Divine Lineage
by axilya
Summary: An epic story on the adventurers of a child of a dead God and her struggles with seeking acceptance of her heritage. Will a budding romance with an aloof elven NPC find her a home at last or will she seek Godhood instead?
1. Chapter 1: Assault of Suldanessellar

**Author's Notes:**

I'm back with a brand new story and hopefully you'll have as much fun reading as I had writing it. Reviews, comments, constructive feedback are greatly appreciated. My english isn't perfect and most of the time, it shows in the way I write. Oh yeah, I do need a proofreader. )

**Background **

Divine Lineage is based on the game Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn and Baldur's Gate II: Throne of Bhaal. This will be an epic story covering adventures after Throne of Bhaal and new characters will be introduced in due time.

This story does not follow closely to the game story. My dialogues are not word-for-word dialogues from the game, however a few dialogues may resembled that of the game depending on the storyline.

I have taken effort to research the lore and to verify spelling of names with the game. However, I don't play the game anymore and my memory may be rusty with certain details, so there may be some mistakes. Sorry about that.

**Protagonist Background **

**Name: ** Rivian Silverwinds  
** Gender: ** Female  
** Race: ** Teu'Tel'Quessir (moon elf)  
**Age: ** Around 133  
**Class: ** Sorceror/Fighter, Bladesinger (Prestige)  
**Alignment: ** Neutral Good

**Disclaimer **

Characters of Baldur's Gate, Throne of Bhaal belong to Bioware, Wizards of the Coast. I don't own any part of it.

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**Chapter 1: Assault of Suldanessellar **

The air of Suldanessellar was heavy with smoke and reeked of death and the metallic smell of blood. The newly arrived defenders of the elven city stood before the broken gates to the city and wrinkled their noses. Once it had been magnificent and shone with a beautiful luster by the protection wards placed by the Circle of High Mages. Now, it was broken and hung at its hinges, having suffered the powerful attacks from the enemy. The powerful wards were broken, no doubt by the powerful archmage, Jonaleth who was once the queen's consort.

The enemies had already entered Suldanessellar and had begun their destruction. Screams and cries of the wounded filled the defendants' ears and fueled the rage in their hearts. Their leader, Prince Elhan scowled deeply and drawn his sword. He was the Commander of the elven army and second in absolute authority only to his sister, Queen Ellesime of Suldanessellar. The prince looked like he had lived two hundred winters but a close look at the wisdom in his golden eyes hinted that he was much older than he looked. With his golden blonde hair tied in a low ponytail and secured with a simple golden band, he stood out among the majority wood elves in the army who had darker hair color.

The defenders drew their weapons. The intruders must be driven off their beloved city. The tall elf prince led the remaining of his army through the broken gates and immediately split his troop into several smaller groups and sent them to secure different parts of the city. The elves having received their orders, marched out, leaving a small group of defendants to build a defense by the wall. To any bystanders, the elf prince was a competent leader and expert in defense strategy. He issued orders with absolute authority and knew the strength and weakness of his people well enough to send the right people to do the right tasks. The prince turned to the remaining people standing near the gates and laid his eyes on a particular elf.

Not all that followed the elf prince were residents of the besieged city; a group of adventurers led by their female leader, Rivian, had come to help the elves. The female was a _Teu'Tel'Quessir, _with smooth, ivory white skin that had a slight bluish undertone when looked under bright light. Her eyes were sharp and slanted with an unusual color of silvery blue. She wore her long thick mane of sapphire blue hair down with a small plait woven across her forehead to keep the locks out of her face. She was taller than most female elves by a couple of inches and slender in built. In leisure time, there would be no lack of suitors to sing praises of her beauty with only her reputation of a quick temper and the sharp sword at her waist, to serve as a deterrent; in times of battle, however, she was a fierce and cunning opponent, dealing devastating magic and death to her enemies. Right now, the female elf was staring fiercely into the city, rage evident in her eyes. Her knuckles were turning white from gripping the hilt of her sword too tightly.

More screams echoed and a loud sound of a building crashing sent the defenders hands to the hilts of their weapons. The prince winced and spoke to the female elf.

"You must seek out the High Priestess or the Queen. Help any of the people you meet and tell them to regroup at the gates. I must stay here to direct the defense." Elhan said to the moon elf in Common.

The sorceress bit her lip and turned her angry eyes to the prince.

"I will see to it that Irenicus will pay for defiling this city. He will regret deeply for this!" she turned once more to survey the destruction before leading her group into the city.

As the prince watched the adventurers walked away, his gaze was still on Rivian. He had been surprised at her words. The female elf had not mentioned about her condition but had instead indicated that she would fight for Suldanessellar like any other elf would. As a child of Bhaal, Rivian was a vessel to contain the godly essence of her sire. She was captured by Joneleth and her divine soul stolen in an unholy ritual. With it, Joneleth was able to bypass the wards placed on his soul and entered the elven city once more and brought destruction with him. Without her divine soul, Rivian was dying.

The prince sighed. It was not a bright day for Suldanessellar and her people.


	2. Chapter 2: Salvation of Suldanessellar

**Disclaimer & Notes**

Settings and Story copyrighted to Bioware, Wizards of the Coast etc.

Note: I'm afraid I cannot remember what are the three artifacts that summoned the guardian of Suldanessellar in the game. If my CD wasn't scratched, I would play it again just to be sure. For now, I replaced them with something else. Sorry about it.

Note II: Thanks for informing me what the three artifacts were. I have corrected this chapter.

**Reviewers:**

**Kendris**: Thank you for reviewing this story. I hadn't realised the chapter was so short until I noticed the word count. hehe.

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**Chapter 2: Salvation of Suldanessellar **

Rivian followed the sound of battle and led her group to aid the elves. From the moment she stepped into the city, she was captured by the beauty and serenity of Suldanessellar. This was a city of elves and she felt a close affinity to all things elven. Despite the smell of death lingering in the air and the cries and moans of the wounded, there was no doubt that Suldanessellar was a beautiful haven for the elves. To be defile by Irenicus and his minions was a crime so great to Rivian that she vowed to rid Suldanessellar of her intruders. She would die for this noble cause without regrets.

An arrow loosened from behind and found its target in the heart of a raksasha. The moon elf snapped back to attention at the oncoming battle ahead of her. A group of raksasha, powerful magic users who can shapeshift at will, were fighting a smaller group of elves. They were summoning Baatezu and Pit Fiends, foul monsters from the lower planes to their numbers. The elves were hard-pressed and most of them, desperately trying to hold their defense. Rivian and her group had fought such creatures before and knew how to battle them efficiently. The raksasha with the stuck arrow fell and the elf who had been fighting it, turned and found another target quickly. Imoen fired another magic arrow from her Gesen Bow and saw it strike home into a Pit Fiend. Stunned by the sudden attack, the twelve feet tall and bat-winged monster let go of the struggling elf and advanced menacingly towards the group. It was time to join the battle. With a single gesture to the rest of the group to engage the enemies, the sorceress started to cast a powerful spell. On her right, Imoen started to chant a spell, her fingers moving quickly along the gesture of the spell with ease and expertise. With a single battle cry from behind, Minsc the ranger berserker ran to engage the Baatezu fiend who had just dismembered a limb from an elf. It fed the bloody leg into its fanged mouth and licked the blood off its claws, all the while, pinning the helpless elf under its leg.

"Foul creature. You will pay." Anomen spat in disgust and prayed to his patron god for a spell to strike evil.

On Rivian's left, the driud, Jaheria finished casting her favorite spell, Insects Swarm. A large swarm of flying insects descended among the group of raksasha, biting them and distracting them from concentrating on spellcasting which stopped the raksasha from dealing any further damage with spells.

A single powerful, purple globe of magic strike the enemies and severed the links of the summoned monsters from their home planes, effectively sending back to where they came from. The raksasha found themselves without their summoned allies and resorted to fight with their claws and weapons instead. The group dispatched them easily.

There were only a couple of survivors from the gruesome battle and all were wounded. Rivian passed several bottles of healing potions to the elves and had Anomen mend any broken bones with his healing spells.

"Thank you, lady, for your timely aid." A wood elf with a nasty cut on his forehead accepted the healing potions Rivian gave him. He gulped the potion and allowed the magic to heal his wounds. The magic relieved his double vision from the pain and being able to see his rescuer better, he was surprised to see the odd group of human and half-elf that had aid him.

"Are you able to walk? Prince Elhan holds the defense at the gates. Join him once you are able." The moon elf smiled lightly at him.

The wood elf nodded quickly.

"Do you know where I can find the High Priestess?" the moon elf asked again.

"I do not know. She is usually in her chambers in the east or in the Temple." The wood elf pointed to a magnificent building further away.

"Very well. Thank you." The moon elf replied.

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"There, no traps on the door." Imoen noted after examining the entrance.

Rivian nodded and opened the door to the High Priestess's chambers. They found the High Priestess alive but engaged in battle by a powerful Baatezu fiend and a few lesser devils. The priestess was an old moon elf, her face lined with age lines and with blue eyes that shone compassion. She was fighting the Baatezu with her mace and trying her best to stay out of range from the menacing sharp claws.

"If you are not with the enemy, aid me." The High Priestess pleaded as soon as she saw the group.

"I will aid you." The moon elf answered without any hesitation and reached her hands into her cloak for another spell component. Her fingers moving with familiar grace and her lips chanted the words for a powerful dismissal spell.

"Stop the mage! Slay em all!" the Baatezu bellowed at the same time, swinging its claws at the priestess.

Anomen prayed to his God for a spell to smite evil and the brave berserker engaged the nearest devil. Jaheria chose to engage in melee fighting this time, forsaking her spells for her scimitar and kept one of the lesser Devil busy.

Within a few breaths, an air elemental was summoned by Imoen. She stood still in concentration and wrestled control over the elemental she summoned. Rolls of sweat glistered on her face until finally she looked up and directed the controlled elemental to aid the priestess against the Baatezu.

Rivian had also finished her spell and the familiar purple globe of magic sent the lesser devils back to the home plane. Severely outnumbered, the Baatezu found itself fending off attacks from all sides. Blasts of magic hit into its scaly skin, and while normal weapons had no effect on the Baatezu, he realized, to its dismay, that the group's weapons were all highly enchanted. Within a short time, the Baatezu was eliminated and the battle over.

"Thank you, child." The high priestess panted droplets of perspiration on her face. "These old bones of mine aren't good for fighting anymore." She smiled gratefully and sat herself on a nearby broken chair.

Rivian liked this elf immediately; she was easy-going and motherly. "Are you the high priestess?"

"Yes. I am, though if you are thinking you had just saved a harmless old elf, you're not far from it." The old lady flashed a grin. "How did you come to Suldanessellar?"

"Prince Elhan led me here. Irenicus stole my divine soul and defile this fair city with his presence. I seek to free Suldanessellar and to reclaim my soul." Rivian paused a moment and frowned. "Elhan had been painfully elusive with answers. Who is Irenicus, really?"

"I'm sorry. It was a great shame, not something we speak of lightly." The elderly moon elf answered apologetically. "Joneleth was a Chosen of the Seldarine, and the queen's consort. His command of elven high magic was second to none in Suldanessellar. However, it was not enough for him. He and his sister seek to attain Godhood by draining the Tree of Life, a deed that would have damned us all if he wasn't stopped. As a punishment, the queen severed his link to the elves and Suldanessellar and banished him from the city." The priestess sighed, wiping her forehead with a kerchief she removed from her sash.

"A vile crime, equivalent to stealing my divine soul." The moon elf replied, rage flashing in her silver blue eyes.

"A thoroughly evil person!" Anomen interjected. "Why didn't the queen just kill him? Surely he deserved death for betraying his people."

"Boo says we kick his butt hard." Minsc agreed, patting his familiar hamster.

Only Imoen remained silent, a momentary pained expression appeared on her face, no doubt recalling some unpleasant memories of suffering at the hands of the crazy mage. Rivian placed her hand on the young mage's shoulders, offering her support and consolation with the simple gesture. The young girl smiled bravely and nodded her thanks.

"I am sorry. The queen hoped that he would be able to earn his way back to the city." The priestess explained, her eyes dimmed with a hint of sadness. "Save the queen and she can aid you. The queen is in the Palace. Joneleth had sealed the palace gates with his magic. I cannot break his wards. You must invoke the Guardian of the Forests. Gather three artifacts and placed them onto the altar in the Temple . The guardians will be summoned and they will open the palace gates for you." The old priestess suggested.

"What are the three artifacts and where can we find them?" Jaheria asked.

"A moonblade, the globlet of Life and the talisman of Rillifane. I do not know where they are right now, but they are somewhere in the city. I am sorry, child. I can offer no further aid than information. I must stay here and guide any who survived. Besides, these old bones of mine won't last long and my spells are long used up." The old elf smiled apologetically. "Be well, child and good luck."


	3. Chapter 3: Dragon of Suldanesselar

**Disclaimer & Notes**

Settings and Story copyrighted to Bioware, Wizards of the Coast etc.

Note: As this chapter's the longest so far, I'm not surprised if there are more mistakes or things I had forgotten from the story. Please feel free to correct me if you spot anything. As usual, suggestion, feedback and constructive criticisms are welcome.

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**Reviewers:**

**R Little Dragon**: You're right. I went through Gamebanshee's walkthrough and found names and things I would have forgotten. Its a wonderful idea, thank you. And you're right again about me starting the story late in the game. I will be concentrating on some new plots on top of the usual BG-II story. Thanks for the review.

** Jason :** Thank you so much for your kind words. I love writing battle scenes as you can probably tell from the length of the new chapter. :) Actually the sixth person would be one whom the PC meet in TOB but he won't be the romantic interest, unless I changed the plot.

**Raziel** : Thank you for reviewing this story and pointing out my mistakes. I have since uploaded chapter two with the amended objects for summoning Suldanesselar's guardians. As for my scratched CDs, I have already bid for a second-handed CD, just waiting for the seller to send it to me.

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**Chapter 3: Dragon of Suldanessellar **

Rivian looked at the artifacts the group had collected; an inactive moonblade, which had belonged to an elf who had sacrificed his life to banish the fiend into the abyss, thus leaving the moonblade on the ground. Rivian had picked it up carefully. She had read from books in Candlekeep that only the owner of a moonblade may touch and draw the blade without damage. She had been careful to cast some magical protection on herself and wrapped her hand with a thick cloth before she pocketed the moonblade into her bagpack. The moon elf was surprised that she did not feel any burst of hostile magic from the moonblade. She knew then, it was inactive.

The group had already obtained the talisman by solving the puzzle in the last building. They would need to look for the Goblet of Life before they can invoke the ritual to summon the city's guardians, as the high priestess Demin has told them. The city was smoldering and parts of it already in ruins from the destruction dealt by the battles. As she thought more about the defenders and the vile creatures unleashed by her nemesis, Irenicus, her frown deepened. She could feel her rage increasing and the darkness in her soul tempting her to indulge in her anger. She fought internally to control her emotions.

As though the pink-haired girl understood Rivian's turmoil within, Imoen placed her hand on her sister's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "Be strong, sister. Fight it," she said. Imoen was also a child of Bhaal as Irenicus revealed. Unlike the moon elf, Imoen only felt the intensity of her internal struggles after she, too lost her divine soul to Irenicus's sister, the vile vampire Bodhi. The group had killed the vampire and she had regained her soul back. Even then, the thief did not forget the darkness she had felt in her soul and she had no doubt that what her sister felt was ten-fold of hers. Even the crazy wizard had confirmed that the moon elf was a powerful child of Bhaal.

Rivian gave her sister an assuring smile and nodded her agreement. In the group, only her sister could understand the struggles within her soul, even thought she doubted that the younger human realized the extent of her darkness. Perhaps all children of Bhaal faced the same struggles within, thought she knew hers was a lot worse, somehow.

The adventurers found a stairway in the eastern most side of the Suldanessellar. As the group prepared to descend the stairs, the moon elf felt an uneasy feeling of dread; something was beneath the stairs and it was waiting for them. She turned around and placed a finger on her lips and gestured silence from the rest of the group.

"What is it?" Imoen tiptoed over from the back of their formation and whispered.

"I don't know. Something feels wrong. We should rest and prepared our spells before we proceed further." The moon elf whispered back.

The pink-haired girl nodded and tiptoed back to her position.

"We find a nearby place and make camp." the leader said softly. No one protested, so the adventurers camped at a nearby building they had cleared out earlier.

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After a few hours of rest, the group descended cautiously down the stairs. They had drawn their weapon and buffed themselves up with protection spells.

The stairs led to a huge plain that looked like a large garden. Rivian's heart gladden that the plain was undisturbed and untouched by the battles going on above it, until she caught the stench of decay. Alarmed, she scanned the plain cautiously. As the one with the keenest eyesight, the moon elf caught sight of the creature that lurked at the far end of the plains. It was huge and the sorceress heard her companion's gasp behind her. They had seen it too.

It was a black dragon and a huge one at that. She could see the thick black scales that gave the dragon its color and the size of its powerful jaws. She had read from books that black dragons were leaders of the dragonkin. It seemed to be asleep and had not yet noticed them. At its foot laid pile of bones with flesh still hanging. Flies were hovering around the decaying flesh but the dragon did not seem to mind. The moon elf saw an object gleamed under the bright sunlight and it was partially hidden by the dragon's huge wings. On closer look, it looked like a goblet. That had to be the Goblet of Life.

The leader pointed at the goblet and the druid confirmed that she had also seen it.

"Fight or flight. Looks like we can't choose the flight option." The moon elf grinned back at her friends.

"Aye, I'm itching for a good fight against evil." The knight, Anomen agreed, patting his war hammer.

"I SEE YOU UNDERLINGS." A loud voice bellowed and the earth felt the tremors as the huge dragon moved towards the adventurers.

Rivian snapped back her attention at the creature and quickly used the drow sign language and signed to her companions to prepare for battle and wait for her signal to attack. None of the group were dark elves but they had all followed Irenicus to the Underdark and met a silver dragon who transformed them to dark elves. After the spell wore off, Rivian was pleasantly surprised when she realized the knowledge of both the spoken language and the silent one remained. While she held no love for the cruel race, she had appreciated the knowledge given. They had used the obvious advantage of the silent sign language to communicate with each other during battles, and when in need of stealth.

"I SMELL MAGIC ON YOU." The huge dragon sniffed the air and eyed the adventurers lazily. "WHY DO YOU TRESPASS MY LAIR?" it bellowed.

Rivian grimaced and covered her ears. The voice was loud enough to be heard across Faerun and at such a close proximity, it was deafening to her. She saw Jaheria doing the same as well.

It was Anomen who answered the dragon. He pushed the moon elf gently behind him and used himself as a shield for the sorceress. "Who are you?" he asked cautiously. Dragons were a quick-tempered and proud race. He did not wish to invoke the wrath of the winged creature if there was a possibility to deal with it peacefully, though if the winged creature wanted a fight, he would be glad to oblige.

"I AM NIZIDRAMANII'YT! HAVEN'T YOU HEARD OF ME? IGNORANT UNDERLINGS." Nizidramanii'yt sneered.

"We want the goblet in your hoard." Rivian replied. Past conversations with dragons had not ended peacefully for her and she doubted it would be any different this time.

"YOU DESIRE THE USELESS GOBLET IRENICUS DUMPED ME." The dragon mused and tapped its claws on the ground, giving the group the feeling that he was thinking. "GIVE ME ALL THE MONEY AND MAGIC YOU HAVE IN EXCHANGE FOR THE USELESS THING." He offered finally.

"No sister. Without our gear, we would be too weak to fight Irenicus." Imoen whispered from her position at the back.

"Imoen is right." The druid agreed, drawing her scimitar from her scabbard.

"Bah! Let's just kill him. He would just be another dragon we killed." Anomen said in earnest.

"Tempus blesses us." The leader mumbled a prayer to the God of War and nodded her approval. The group took up battle stances.

"FOOLISH UNDERLINGS. I WOULD ENJOY YOUR FLESH AS MY DINNER." Nizidramanii'yt bellowed and flapped his wings at his small opponents.

While Nizidramanii'yt had the advantage of size and strength, Rivian and her group was much more agile and nimble and were able to weave in and out of the menacing claws without much effort. Even Minsc who was usually less agile, was doing well keeping out of reach. The melee fighters used a 'hit-and-strike' tactic, taking turns running around the black dragon and scoring hits on parts of the dragon. The spellcasters remained well out of claws range and dealt magic on Nizidramanii'yt .

Rivian had devised the tactics over the past few months where they killed two other dragons  the shadow dragon in the temple ruins in Umar Hills and the red dragon in Windspear. Everybody in the group knew their role. While the melee fighters kept the dragon away from the spellcasters, they were in fact acting only as a decoy. Imoen's task was to weaken and lower the natural defense the serpent had against magic, and to renew casting these spells. Jaheira's was to distract the enemy with her favorite spell  Insect Plague and continued to summon allies to boast their numbers and healed any of them who needed it. Rivian held the role of dealing the actual damage. She would first cast Mass Haste to boast the melee fighters, protection from acid, followed by her more powerful spells.

Seeming to sense the adventurer's tactics, the wyrm stopped trying to grab at Minsc and Anomen. Instead, he took in air and ready its acid breath weapon on them.

"Watch out, dragon breath!" Rivian shouted in the middle of a spell and the magical energy she was conjuring dissipated. "Nine hells." she cursed.

With the magic boasted by his Bracers of Dexerity, given by the sorceress, Anomen rolled himself out of the acidic cloud before it could do any damage to him. He patted the bracers, retrieved his war hammer from the ground and turned to strike the dragon at its back.

The ranger rolled out of the cloud a breath too late. The big man was coughing and wheezing from the effects of the acidic air, his lungs rotting from the poison. Jaheria quickly ran over and helped him to his feet, casting a healing spell on the berserker. Before long, Minsc too resumed the melee.

Rivian took a quick look at her sister to catch her eye. _Deal damage. They need help. _ She signed quickly.

The pink-haired human responded with an equally quick nod.

The sorceress turned her attention to the battle again. The fighters were doing their best to keep the dragon occupied and Anomen's Crom Faeyr  a highly enchanted war hammer  managed to deal more damage through the dragon's thick armor. An idea occurred to Rivian. She needed to switch to her enchanted blade as well and the younger mage would be able to cover her part in dealing magic. Her fingers moved through the gesture for the spell Tenser Transformation which would give her an edge in melee fighting. Without the spell, the moon elf was a competent fighter but she was taking no chances this time. As the spell completed, the sorceress drew Equalizer - her long sword from the silver scabbard.

The moon elf waited for a chance to strike. She gulped an invisibility potion and moved silently near the black dragon and bade her time. By this time, Anomen had opened several wounds on Nizidramanii'yt and he was striking a heavy blow at the dragon's left wing which was bleeding profusely.

The air around them grew stiff and heavy. Imoen had cast a spell at their enemy to drain any moisture and water. It was a powerful spell that only harmed enemies within the range of the spell. The spell was also absorbing the dragon's blood on its many wounds. Rivian took a quick look at the mage who had begun chanting another spell. On the other side, the wyrm had started to cast a healing spell, its tail waving menacing at the fighters to keep them away.

It was the chance she needed. She skipped nimbly out of the great serpent's tail and drove her sword in with all her might at the tattered wing, opening the wound Anomen had made further and slid the blade along the wing and nearly severed it from the body.

Nizidramanii'yt roared in pain, and the healing spell was disrupted. Anomen took the cue and ran towards the broken wing and slammed the war hammer against the bones. The dragon tried to brush the other wing towards them, attempting to knock them down but Rivian held on to her sword which was still impaled in the wing. Minsc also drove his bastard sword into the other wing.

With both his wings injured, Nizidramanii'yt used his powerful jaws and tried to snap at Anomen who rolled out of range. The moon elf took the chance and jumped off the dragon's wing and rolled aside. She quickly cast a spell for levitation. Two more fire elementals were summoned by Jaheria and sent to keep Nizidramanii'yt occupied. Once the spell was completed, Rivian willed herself towards the dragon's massive head. Seeing where she was heading, Anomen used himself as bait and stood in front of the serpent. The great reptile smashed its jaws at the knight and knocked him flying hard against a tree. The moon elf took the chance and slammed her sword into the dragon's skull where the scales were thinnest.

The battle was over. The moon elf hurried over to Anomen and the others followed. The knight had broken a few ribs in the impact and he was having difficulty breathing under his heavy armor. The druid quickly prayed to Silvanus and cast a healing spell on the man while Imoen tried to remove the armor. The moon elf uncorked a healing potion and tried to force it down his throat. Anomen coughed and wheezed. A green glow appeared under Jaheria's healing hands and color returned to the man. He allowed the elf to sit him up with some effort and drained the potion.

Finally after a few more potions and more healing spells, he flashed an assuring grin at his friends. "I'm fine. No need to fuss over me."

"That thing could have killed you! What do you think you were doing?" The sorceress chided the man lightly.

"I say he's just dying for us to fuss over him, no pun intended. " Imoen teased. "How else do you think he put such risk on himself?"

"Bah! That thing is dead. I knew you will kill him. I had to buy you some time." The knight said and eyed at the fading bruises on his chest.

"Thanks but I can manage. I know you are brave but don't risk yourself like that again." The leader studied the bruises, her smile fading.

"I'm fine really." The man flushed at the attention and quickly donned his tunic over and got up.

"Let's get the goblet and I suggest we rest for a few hours before we go to the temple." Jaheria suggested.

Nobody objected so the group buried the decaying bones they found and emptied the dead dragon's hoard. The thief poured a potion over the massive body and dissolved it. Satisfied, she returned to their camp, near the stairs.


	4. Chapter 4: Guardians of Suldanessellar

**Disclaimer & Notes**

Settings and Story copyrighted to Bioware, Wizards of the Coast etc.

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**Reviewers:**

**R Little Dragon**: Thank you. Oops, I fixed Tempus's name. Thanks for pointing that out.

** Kendis :** Thank you so much for your review. There will be more on Imoen and Rivian, I promised.

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**Chapter 4: Guardians of Suldanessellar **

The adventurers broke camp and headed for the Temple of Rillifane to summon the guardians of the elven city. As they marched their way to the temple on the northeastern side of the city, they saw battle scenes, corpses of elves and enemies alike lining the paths with dried blood and damages. Rivian let her gaze lingered more on the dead elves, their deaths both enraged and sadden her at the same time. Too much elf blood had been shed for one man's ambitions to attain Godhood. She could still hear the battle cries and the moans of the wounded. Still the war was far from over. Irenicus's minions were still in the city and even though the group had done their far share to dispatch them, it was not enough. The city was still at war.

"So much bloodshed just for a mad man." The knight murmured next to the sorceress, speaking her thoughts aloud and bringing her gaze upon him.

"Too much." The moon elf nodded her agreement, the scowl on her face deepened as she thought of the payback she would give Irenicus and the darkness within her soared in approval at her vengeance.

"I'm sorry, Ri. Did I say something wrong?" Anomen asked in a concern tone, using the elf's pet name and bringing his march to a halt.

"I'm fine." The moon elf snapped impatiently. "We don't stop until the mad man pays." With that, she continued her march, not realizing that the group had stopped behind her.

Anomen stretched a gloved hand and grabbed the moon elf's arm before she could move a few steps. "Ri. You're shaking." His dark eyes studying the sorceress intently.

Rivian did not realize that she was trembling with rage. The darkness within her raged her on, tempting her to take out her anger on something or someone. She felt the knight's grasp tightened on her arm and his face quietly observing her. There was something about the way he grab her arm that angered her, or offended the darkness within her. Perhaps it was both, she was not sure. With a quick fling of her free arm, she swept the man's hand from her and turned to stare daggers at him.

"Ri! Your eyes! Control yourself!" the knight cried in alarm, instantly taking two steps back from the elf. The elf's usual silver eyes had started to turn a feral yellow. The group tensed at her change.

"Do not let the anger take you, little sister," Imoen quickly stepped between them. "Please sister. You don't want to turn to the Slayer."

Jaheria quickly pulled the knight behind her, preventing him from provoking the moon elf unintentionally. The knight had nearly died in Spellhold when Rivian turned into the Slayer one morning. She had just lost her soul and it had changed her in a terrible way. In her slayer rage, she did not recognize Anomen and had nearly torn his throat out. The others were luckier as the knight had always insisted on resting near the moon elf, claiming to protect her when the need arise. Everyone in the group knew that Anomen bore feelings for the elf, even if the moon elf herself was oblivious to it. But the things he had said to Rivian after she had resumed her shape were overly harsh and alienated the moon elf from him.

The moon elf was still trembling, her forehead wet with cold sweat and she was starting to see things in clouds of blood, a sign of the slayer transformation. She dreaded the transformation and so far only used it twice. Her first transformation had been the morning after her soul was stolen and she had nearly killed Anomen. Her second one had literally ripped Bodhi into pieces. Both times had ended making her sick to her stomach and it was not something she cared to experience again.

"Ri. Don't, please." The thief pleaded with her, daring to place her small hand on the elf's shoulders. "I know how you feel, I know you are angry. We will stand with you. Sister, we will snatch your stolen soul back. Look at me. " She turned the moon elf towards her and cupped the elf's face with her hands. "Stay with us, Ri."

The moon elf showed no respond that she had heard the words but her eyes gradually returned to her usual silvery blue color and she stopped trembling. She took puffs of deep breaths to steady herself, finally smiling an assuring smile at her friends.

"That was close. I'm fine now." She nodded, pulling a kerchief from her sash and wiped her face.

"Oh Ri. You frightened us." The pink-haired girl hugged the elf and laughed in relief.

Behind them, Jaheira nodded and Minsc turned his attention towards his hamster. Only the knight appeared uncertain and nervous. He looked suspiciously at the elf, trying to judge for himself if the danger was over.

Rivian caught sight of the look Anomen gave her and winced. She broke the embrace with Imoen and approached the man carefully. "I'm fine Anomen. I'm sorry I let my anger gained control."

The man nodded and looked away. Rivian winced again. She had been able to gain control of herself during her Slayer transformation but the knight remained unconvinced.

It was Jaheria that broke the awkward moment. "Let's go to the temple. The earlier we finished this, the earlier we can get Ri's soul back."

The others nodded in agreement and resumed their march.

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The group found five Rakasha guarding the temple entrance, no doubt having received their orders from Irenicus. They put up a fight against the seasoned adventurers but were dispatched easily. Jaheria and Anomen healed the wounds caused by the poisonous air released by the Rakasha and the group went into the temple.

The temple itself was guarded by a mage of no small power, his adamantine golem, a daemon and another Rakasha. Rivian quickly signed to the team and assigned them to take out the enemies while she drew her sword and engaged the mage with Imoen. Jaheria chanted the words for her favorite spell which was very useful against spellcasters. Minsc engaged the daemon while Anomen fought the golem; his enchanted war hammer gave him an edge against large humanoid enemies like golems.

The air grew heavy and the adventurers found their steps slow and lethargic and finally stopped altogether. The mage had managed to finish the incantations for a Time Stop spell. He was chanting more spells and the moon elf recognized the words for a gate spell and a few more protection spells the mage cast on himself. Finally the spell ended and the moon elf started casting spells to strip the mage's magical protection. Imoen chanted her own time stop spell while Jaheria finished her spell as well. A huge swarm of buzzing insects engulfed the struggling wizard, hindered his visibility and spellcasting efforts. The fighters continued to gain advantage of their opponents. Rivian started casting another damage spell - Abi-Dalzim's Horrid Wilting which damaged all enemies within range.

The golem fell with a loud sound, sending ripples on the ground. Anomen went against the pit fiend summoned by the wizard's gate spell. Rivian's spell had gained them some advantage. The air grew heavy again and the knight groaned, anticipating another time stop spell casted by the wizard. The movements slowed and ceased; only the chanting of spells by the familiar voice of Imoen brought comfort to him.

With the advantage of the Time Stop spell, Imoen wasted no time casting imprisonment on the pit fiend and then a mass haste spell on her friends. She managed to cast the spell to strip the wizard's magical protection before the effects of her time stop ended.

The imprisonment spell worked and Anomen quickly healed up the wounds on Minsc and helped him killed the daemon.

The battle was over when Imoen backstabbed the wizard from behind after drinking a potion of invisibility. The group took what could be useful from the corpses and laid the three artifacts to summon the guardians on the altar.

The artifacts disappeared and the temple lights brightened. The group could smell the fragrance of forests and flowers in bloom before the guardian appeared. It was an avatar of Rillifane Rallathil, the Leaflord. The avatar was huge and misty in shape, towering over the group by a few feet. It was green in color and looked like a giant oak tree though the exact shape could not be made out. The group stared in awe.

"WHY HAVE YOU SUMMONED ME?" the avatar bellowed, its thundering voice sending the group to cover their ears.

"Suldanesselar is besieged. The exile has returned." The sorceress answered.

"AH THE EXILE HAS RETURNED. THE INTRUDERS WILL BE PRUGED. IS THAT ALL?" Behind the avatar, several forest spirits were summoned and they left the temple quickly.

"He has locked the gates to the palace." The moon elf said.

With a wave of its hand, the avatar answered. "THE GATES IS UNLOCKED. I CAN DO NO MORE." In a flash, the avatar was gone and the temple darkened to its former stage.

The group exited the temple and made their way to the gates. On their way, they saw the works of the forest spirits. They had slain the intruders and fixed up the damaged buildings, restoring the health of any wounded they came upon and removing the bodies of fallen elves for burial. Rivian felt a sense of ease and pride as she saw Suldanesselar returning to its former glory, even though the price the elves had paid was too huge.


	5. Chapter 5: Palace

**Author's Notes:**

Sorry for the wait. I got a new job and that left me little time to write. This chapter has a bit more dialogue than the rest.

**Reviewers:**

R Little Dragon: In this chapter, you'll have your answer about the possibilities of a romance with Anomen. hehe.:P

KiraraLova026: I like the game too.

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**Chapter 5: Palace **

As they entered the palace doors, a huge oak tree in the middle of the courtyard caught their attention. The tree was old, with its roots deeply embedded in the ground, and almost bare of leaves. Its truck was thick and huge with elven runes engraved on it and most of the branches were dry and leafless except those at the top of the tree; they were filled with lush green leaves.

"Why did they plant a dying tree in the Palace?" Anomen murmured as he took in the sight of the huge tree.

"I doubt the elves would have let a tree die in their care. This must be the work of the Exile." Jaheria explained, touching the trunk of the tree delicately and examining the tree. "Something's killing the tree. Look at how the leaves are turning yellow."

The group looked at the direction the druid pointed and saw that on the lowest branch which still held leaves, it was slowly turning yellow. One by one, the dying leaf withered and dried up, eventually falling off the branch to join the huge pile of dead leaves on the ground. The tree looked almost as if it was dying in front of their eyes.

Rivian stared at the tree and put her hand on the trunk. She could feel that the tree made a connection to her mind, it was magical and that it was slowly dying. "This must be the Tree of Life." She announced.

"What? How did you know?" Imoen placed her hand on the tree. The others followed suit.

"I feel the tree pleads. I can't explain it, I just feel that the tree wants me to help." The elf shook her head.

"I don't feel anything." Imoen shrugged.

"Trees can't make connections, Ri. You must be imagining it." Anomen chuckled.

"Boo says tree is magical." Minsc countered, patting his familiar hamster. "Boo is always right. Tree is injured. We must help tree."

"Nonsense. I see no tree dryads here. The tree is dying, that's for sure but I think its cursed." The knight insisted.

"Typical city dweller," the druid murmured under her breath. Anomen snorted in contempt over her statement but Jaheria ignored him.

"Tree of Life? Yes it must be. This tree is magical and we must not let the tree died. It could affect all the elves in the city." Jaheria said, taking a green leaf from the tree and examining it.

The others waited patiently for the druid to finish her observation. Finally the druid's eyes focused on the group and the moon elf asked. "What is killing the tree?"

"I've looked at the bark, the branches and the leaves. It is dying; something is draining it like a parasite. We should get to the root of the tree." Jaheria answered.

"Right! I'm sure stairs will appear magically or better still we will suddenly grow wings." Anomen answered sarcastically, wearing a triumph smirk on his face at his chance to counter the druid.

"There must be some way to get to the top. Imoen, do you have a spell that can send us up? Or a flying spell like Anomen suggested." Rivian asked.

The thief looked deep in thought, her fingers scanning through her thick spellbook, then eventually putting the book into her pack and shook her head. "Sorry sis, no magical wings from me."

The moon elf nodded. "Then let's explore the area more. I feel that there's something strange about the fountain." She observed, pointing at a nearby fountain that stood two stone statues playing a harp. Something felt missing about the whole fountain, and the moon elf suddenly remembered the stone harp and horn the group found in one of the houses.

The material was the same and the stone pieces fitted perfectly into the statues. Suddenly the water in the fountain drained off, and the statues parted to reveal a hidden stairs. The group stood warily at the entrance.

"There, Ano, your stairs. Heehee," Imoen joked and slapped playfully on the annoyed knight's shoulder. Even Jaheria smiled at the little tease.

"Minsc go BUTT-KICKING!" the ranger roared and his hamster squeaked in agreement. The huge man was going to descend the stairs when Rivian grabbed him by the collar.

"Wait, Minsc. I feel my soul is near. There is great danger. You need not go with me, my big friend. You have done more than enough for me." The moon elf looked solemnly at the ranger.

Minsc scratched his bald head and looked confused but he smiled broadly in a while. "No little Rivian. Minsc and Boo help you. Mad man is evil. We kick evil butt." He patted so hard on the elf's shoulders that she stepped back and grinned fiercely. "Thank you Minsc."

Next she turned to Jaheria and asked the same question. "Jaheria. You've lost too much, there's no need to go with me."

"Silence child. This mad man not only stole your soul, he stole my husband's life. I will avenge Khalid. Do not try to stop me. I fight with you." The druid answered firmly, her eyes dimmed in a flash and struggled to hold back her tears.

"Thank you Jaheria." Rivian hugged the druid and turned her attention towards her sister. "Imoen, you don't…"

"Shut up sis! I'm not going to stand back and let you deal with the mad mage alone. You didn't forsake me and I sure as hell am not going to back out on you now. Besides, as Minsc said, he needs a good butt kicking!" the cheerful thief interrupted and hugged her sister.

"Thank you, sister." Rivian murmured into Imoen's hair as she embraced her sister.

Finally, she turned to the knight who was looking at her expectantly and yet when the elf opened her mouth to speak, he raised up a hand to stop her. "No words needed, Rivian. You are a great friend to me. I am a knight today because you helped me fulfilled my dreams. I'm not afraid to fight the mage, no matter how powerful he is. I have a duty to the Order to rid evil." He took Rivian's hands in his and looked deep into her eyes. "Ri… I know we may not come up alive. There's something I want to tell you." He paused and swallowed hard.

The others slowly crept away to give the two warriors some privacy, Imoen dragging a confused Minsc away.

"Do you think he's finally saying it?" Imoen asked Jaheria who shrugged. "I think he will." She answered herself.

"Ri… I.. er.. I… um…" Anomen started but failed miserably. He took a deep breathe and blurted out. "I love you." A deep blush forming on the knight's face and he looked increasingly uncomfortable.

The moon elf's reaction was one of surprise then she blushed furiously and slowly removed her hands from the knight's. "Anomen, you are a brave and good man. You are like a brother to me. I'm sorry."

The poor man was obviously crushed but he put up a brave front and nodded. "I know I don't have a lot to offer you right now but I will work hard and give you a comfortable life, Ri. I can give you a home; we can build one together…"

"Ano. Please forgive me. I really don't know if I'm going to make it out alive. A great battle awaits us, perhaps this is not a good time to speak of this." She offered.

Anomen looked disappointed but he gradually nodded his agreement. "We'll speak of this again." He assured the elf who quickly excused herself.

"That didn't look too good." Imoen observed from a corner.

"That man's too thick in his head. Ri won't fall for him." Jaheria agreed.

"Minsc won't let little Rivian fall. Boo will catch her." The ranger interjected innocently, bringing the two females laughing in stitches. "What's so funny?" Rivian approached the group and the two stopped their laughing fits.

"Nothing, are you ready for battle?" Jaheria quickly changed the subject and to her relief, Rivian did not probe further.


	6. Chapter 6: The Battle in the Abyss

**Chapter 6 - The Battle in the Abyss**

The group stood with their weapons drawn in an attack formation, their eyes focused on their opponent who was busy arguing with the Queen. Rivian and her group had managed to rescue the Queen from her captive by slaying all the parasites the mad mage placed on the Tree of Life, earlier. Without the parasites draining the tree, Irenicus was unable to obtain anymore power from the Tree. Finally the arguement ceased and the queen left looking disappointed, the mad mage turned his attention to the group.

"So, you are still alive. You are beginning to become quite a pest. I would have let you die a peaceful death in Spellhold but now you will die horribly for ruining my quest." Irenicus sneered and his fingers moved with graceful expertise as he started chanting a spell.

The group began their offense; The fighters quickly striked at the mage, their weapons not making much of an impact against his magical protections. Jaheria cast her familiar spell to summon a swarm of stinging insects and Imoen cast a spell to haste her allies. Rivian managed to summon a shimmering force that resembled a floating sword. It hovered around her slaying any enemies that might attack the mage. The elf took a moment to quickly scan the battlefield, noting the fighters' difficulty to score any hit on Irenicus' defenses and started casting a Spellstrike spell that will strip several known protection spell from a target.

The battlefield was a mess and the wizard summoned more fiends and dealt massive damage to the group. Minsc cried in pain as a pit fiend's claws scored marks on his shoulder and blood gushed out freely, staining his bronze amour. Anomen quickly stepped between them, fending off attacks for Minsc and kept the fiend away from the berserker. Minsc took the break from the attack and removed a potion from his belt and drained the contents in a single gurp. His wounds closed and he resumed the fight.

The battle went on for a long time with neither side gaining any significant advantage. Irenicus's was indeed a very compenent spellcaster, even outnumbered by the adventurers, he was able to hold his ground. The group managed to work efficiently surviving the devastating magic and keeping their enemy busy. Rivian was getting tired and her fingers were getting numbed from the endless spellcasting, it was at this moment, she realised there was a new spell in her mind. Her instinct and curiousity urged her to cast this new spell even though she had not used it before.

The fighters were still doing their best to strike their enemy. Jaheria had taken up arms and engaged in melee fighting while Imoen was nowhere to be seen. A massive bolt striked Irenicus and disrupted the spell he was casting and cursed. Then he continued casting another spell. Anomen grunted in frustration that his bolt had not hold their enemy off more. Next a huge fireball striked at the mad mage, then another. Soon a whole comet of burning rocks striked the battlefield, some of them hitting the enemy. Anomen and Minsc tried their best to dodge the rocks while wondering who cast such a spell. The ground shook each time a massive rock hit and the group staggered to retain their balance.

Irenicus was knocked off ground from the sheer force of the powerful spell andv was stunned momentarily. At this moment a dagger stuck on the mage's back and a pink-haired girl appeared. He screamed and tried to remove the dagger and an agile elf appeared besides him and slid the mage's throat with a quick stroke.

The group stood panting as the battle ended. Rivian wiped her bloody sword on the dead mage's robe and crutched at her bleeding arm. With her enemy dead, she had expected feeling relieved or somehow different with her stolen soul regained but there had not been any difference and she did not feel as complete as Imoen had when they killed Bodhi. At the back of her mind, she felt a slight crawling sensation like something was trying to lead her somewhere. She could hear Anomen calling her name but that sensation intensified and finally overwhelming her; the moon elf lost conciousness.

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Rivian found herself in Anomen's arm when she regained consciousness. Feeling awkward at the nearest to a man, she blushed and removed herself from the knight's arms. At once she noticed her new surroundings and the worried looks on her friends' faces.

"Where are we?" she asked cautiously, her eyes scanning the errie surroundings.

"In the Abyss I'm sure." Jaheria answered gently, looking nervously around.

"The Abyss? But how?" the moon elf asked, shaking her head gently and trying to clear the confusion in her mind.

"We felt the pulling. I knew that you needed my help so I gave myself in to the pull. The others did too. That's how we ended up here." Anomen explained.

Rivian eyes went wide-opened. She studied her friends' expressions and they confirmed what Anomen had told her. Tears rolled down her eyes. "I'm sorry, I brought you here. If I could I would send you back. I.."

"Hush child. I suspect when you finish your business here, we will all be able to go back. Now, we need to get moving." The half-elf consoled, pulling the moon elf up.

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Rivian looked at the five Tears of Bhaal the group had obtained from completing the five areas in hell. The elf considered her options as the group stood before the door; the tests were easy enough but in the fifth test she nearly gave in to the darkness within her when she saw Saravok. She had not expected to see Saravok again after he died at her hands. Her father's murderer; The sorceress shoke her head, it was over. Saravok died a second time if he could die again when the group slain him and took the final Tear of Bhaal.

"Lets get this over with, Ri" Jaheria gently poked the elf's arm, breaking her thoughts.

Rivian nodded and placed each Tear of Bhaal into each of the five sockets on the door. With each Tear placed, she felt a strange energy flowing through her. It was refreshing and somehow made her felt stronger. Finally the door opened and the group came face to face with a smiling Irenicus.

"So we meet again. This will be the final battle. I will win you and be free." The archmage laughed.

"No, You will be the one to fall" Jaheria replied, drawing her scimitar.

The battle in hell began. Irenicus seemed more powerful than before, his magic quickly summoned several pit fiends and in a few turns, the group found themselves outnumbered. Rivian caught Imoen's attention and quickly signed to her in their silent language to boast their numbers. The young mage nodded and started casting a summoning spell. The elf quickly started casting a spell to take down some of the monsters.

Anomen and Minsc did their best to take down the monsters summoned by their enemies but they were starting to tire after a while. Within a few breaths, Rivian managed to summon three invisble swords and started casting a Death Spell which will remove all of Irenicus's summoned monsters.

The battle went on for sometime with neither side gaining advantage over the other. With each Death Spell the elf cast, the mad mage managed to summon more monsters after the spell.

"Damn! Why isn't he running out of spells?" A breathless Imoen panted when she moved past Rivian. Her bow singing endlessly and each arrow finding their place in a target. That gave the elf an idea. She made her way to Jaheria and managed to tell the druid her plans.

Next, she gave in to the darkness within her delibrately, bringing out the Slayer. Her vision became clouded in blood and she felt a throbbing headache. It was difficult to control the Slayer but she managed to direct herself towards Irenicus and she saw her claws scratching the enemy. With the Slayer keeping Irenicus busy, Jaheria sent her Insect Plague to their enemy, effectively hindering any further attempts from him to cast spells.

It was not the end, to the group's horror, Irenicus transformed himself into the Slayer and attacked Rivian. The two slayers fought each other ferociously, each monster scratching and piecing their opponent. In a few turns, both slayers were covered with blood and gore. Anomen dispatched the last pit fiend on the battlefield and stood near the two fighter slayers, wondering which one is the enemy.

"Which one is Rivian?" Anomen shouted.

"I don't know. Damn. Look at their eyes!" Jaheria shouted back from the other side of the scene and landed a final blow on the invisble stalker she was fighting. Panting she healed her wounds and ran towards the two stuggling slayers.

The knight tried hard to look at the Slayers' eyes, trying to find one that somehow expressed compression. He did not have to wait long as one Slayer landed a kick in the other and the other fell over. The knight managed to catch a quick glmpse of the fallen slayer and knew that was Rivian from her expression. It was the expression of rage while the other was cold. Cautiously, the knight moved and engaged the Slayer. The others joined in.

Soon, one Slayer fell and regained its true form. "NOOOO! I WILL NOT LOSE!..." Irenicus screamed and his last words were lost as blood poured out of his mouth and the body fell.

Rivian regained her true form as well, her arms bleeding profusely and she looked pale from the lost of blood. She felt a familiar sensation at the back of her mind and before long she had lost consciousness.


	7. Chapter 7: The Gift

**Notes:** Sorry I took so long with this chapter, ran into writer's block and busy work schedule. Hopefully, this chapter isn't too bad.

**Chapter 7: The Gift**

"Awaken child..." a melodious voice belonging to Queen Ellesime whispered to the unconscious Rivian. The queen stroked the moon elf's long sapphire-colored hair, like a mother coaxing a lazy child who refuses to get out of bed.

"She's not responding, Ellesime. Do you think that she...?" Prince Elhan asked, wearing a worried expression as he looked at the Savior of Suldanessellar.

The queen turned her attention to her brother and cocked her head in response. "You seemed to care quite a lot for her." It was not a question.

The elf prince blushed and looked away. "She saved our home." he offered.

The queen looked her brother in the eye and nodded after a while. "She is fine, Elhan, do not worry. I am confident she'll be awake in time for the celebration feast. Food usually has that kind of effect on the wounded." she assured him.

"If you say so, Ellesime... It's just that she looks so vulnerable." the prince replied without taking his eyes off the sleeping female.

"Ah... But looks can be deceiving, Elhan. I think we had learnt this lesson well." the queen's golden eyes turned dark for a moment as she recalled the ordeal Suldanessellar had suffered from Irenicus' onslaught. The frown on her serene face left as fast as it came, and the queen smiled again. "She's stronger than you expected, Elhan. It was fate that brought her here and I do not think that it brought her here to die."

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At midnight, the city of Suldanessellar came alive; its residents gathered around a large campfire in the middle of the city, celebrating their recent victory. Free flow of ale and honey wine were passed around and the musicians played all celebration pieces known to them. The elves all wore their ceremonial attire; the females wore green skirts made of a sheer fabric while the males wore green silk tunics with matching pants. Among the group of green-clad elves dancing, were Imoen and Jaheria both clad in white. The elves had sent the group of adventurers a change of clothes earlier and the two females had gratefully accepted them.

Sitting on a bench nearby were a bored looking Anomen and Minsc. An elderly elf was talking to the knight and offering snacks and ale to the human who declined for the fifth time this night. Anomen was feeling restless; the celebration had gone on for sometime and yet the city remained relatively quiet. There was no rowdy or drunken elf making excessive noises, nor were there any other form of entertainment except joining the dance or endure listening to the long-winded elderly elf talking about something ancient. Anomen had switched off after the first few sentences; it was out of sheer politeness to the host that he continued to suffer the elf's chatting. He looked to his right at Minsc for assistance, but the berserker was happily feeding his pet hamster, Boo elven wine while helping himself to the snacks and ale. In fact, Anomen thought the Rashaman might have drank too much as his face were becoming red and his speech was starting to slur. Even Boo looked intoxicated. The hamster was walking unsteadily and it fell a few times while making its way to Minsc's pocket.

"This is great, Jae. We should go partying more often." Imoen panted as she struggled to keep up with the dance.

"Yeah, I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy this but now I'm glad you convinced me to have some fun. Rivian should be here as well, she would really love to mingle more with her own race." The druid replied quickly.

As if on cue, the moon elf arrived in a short blue dress, a row of small white flowers were weaved into her hair that was plaited partially across the crown of her head, and she had one arm hooked onto a handsome elf prince. Elhan wore a white tunic that had gold seams and a white cloak, his hair was tied in a low ponytail secured with a gold band. Anomen stared at the couple as they walked towards the other end of the campfire. The moon elf showed no sign of injury or weakness though she had only regained consciousness a few hours before the celebration feast. The knight snorted in annoyance and got up to intercept the couple but the elderly elf pulled him back.

"Young man, don't be hasty, my story's coming to an end soon, if you would hear me for a few more moments."

Anomen frowned but took his seat reluctantly. It was bad manners to interrupt someone and as he looked up, Rivian and Elhan had already passed out of his sight.

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The moonlight shone on Rivian's pale face as they stood a distance away from the celebration campfire. It was a chilly night and the wind blew at the couple. The prince turned to look at the moon elf with a thoughtful expression.

"How are you feeling, Rivian?" he asked her, removing his cloak and covered the female elf with it.

"Thank you." the sorceress smiled gratefully and clasped at the cloak. "I'm fine. I feel complete now if that's what you're asking."

The prince nodded. "I want to give you something, Rivian. You have saved my home. It means a lot to me and my people that you did so. I must apologize for not telling you about Jonaleth earlier. It was a huge shame for me to seek your help and I did not want to embarrass my people further." the leader explained.

Rivian nodded. "It's fine. I think I can understand why you did that. I did what I have to. No reward is needed."

"Rivian," Elhan reached for the female's hands and held it. "It is not only out of gratitude that I want to give you something but also because you'll need it in future. You are a child of a God. There are challenges for one such as you. You have a destiny, Rivian and I want to be able to offer some help however small it may be, in the hope that it'll bring you comfort or make a difference in your future survival."

"I don't understand... Elhan. What do you mean?" the moon elf's eyes widen in surprise.

"I mean... you were asleep for a ten day, Rivian. During this time, we heard some rumors that Children of Bhaal were gathering in the city of Saradush. Something's not right, my lady. There must be a conspiracy at work here and I fear for your safety. Suldanessellar will always be open to you, Rivian but even the magical gates of Suldanessellar cannot hold your Destiny away from you." the prince paused and took a deep breath. In his heart, he wished he could accompany the moon elf and protect her but duties bound him to Suldanessellar.

"Rivian, do you like music? Do you like to sing?" he asked suddenly.

"Yes, I do, very much. Garion used to sing me to sleep though he was quite bad at it." Rivian smiled to herself as she recalled fond memories of her foster father. "Then one day there was an elf who came with a caravan to Candlekeep, his name was Eylen. He taught me Elvish and some songs. Eylen was really good at the songs. Gorion had always wanted me to know more about my elven heritage and engaged him as my tutor for a while. Eylen trained me on sword fighting and imparted me elven lore. Ah, those were good times." the sorceress sighed.

"Then I have this gift for you, Rivian. Have you heard of Bladesingers?"

"Fighters with spells, or rather spell casters who can fight as one with their blades. Yes, Eylen had mentioned them briefly to me during one lesson on elven profession."

The prince nodded his approval. "He has taught you well. Yes, a bladesinger is one that combines magic with sword fighting. I saw you in battle, Rivian. You are very good with your spells but your fighting skills need more work and training you as a bladesinger will definitely enhance your weakness and make you stronger. And more importantly, you are noble in your intentions. That is my gift to you."

Rivian could not believe her ears. The elf prince was offering to train her to be a bladesinger, one of the highest honored professions among the elves. _She, a bhaalspawn._ She had always been fascinated with her people and now an opportunity came for her to learn more. "You would train me?" she asked, the tone of her voice shaking from disbelief.

The prince chuckled. "Yes. There isn't much time, it'll be tough and I will be strict. If you take my offer, we will start now. I fear that your Destiny might call you any moment now and I want to at least complete the basic training."

"YES! Thank you, Elhan". The moon elf laughs, kissed the surprised prince on the lips and did a little happy dance. She blushed shyly when she realized what she had done from the redness tint on the elf prince's face.


	8. Chapter 8: Chosen Weapon

**Reviews:**

Joshua: Thank you, I'm so glad you like it. I haven't quite decide if Elhan will accompany the group as of this moment but you'll find out in the next chapter. :P

Silver of Two Wings: Ah, that'll teach me to be on hiatus while this is half-written, I'll re-upload the fix for the last chapter, thanks for pointing that out. :D Quite true, the story so far isn't quite as light-hearted but it might get darker soon. **  
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Chapter 8: Chosen Weapon**

Anomen downed the mug of ale in a single gulp. It had been at least a ten day since he last saw Rivian awake. The sorceress had been training with the elf prince Elhan since the celebration feast and none of the adventurers had managed to get hold of her since. Rivian had not even been sleeping in the small building with her friends, in fact, it was a messenger from the prince that told them that she was undergoing some intensive training and would be required to stay in the palace. The knight had not even been able to pass a message to her. He sighed in annoyance and poured himself another mug of ale and gulped it down.

"Hey, slow down. Go easy on the ale, there isn't that much to do around here, ya know?" The cheerful voice of Imoen advised and she placed a well-meaning hand on the mug the knight was holding.

"Leave me alone, Imoen. I'm sick of this place." The knight retorted.

"Ooo, someone's touchy today. What's wrong, Ano? Are you feeling restless?" the girl sat down besides the man, and poured herself some ale.

Anomen studied the mage besides him for any signs of mockery. He really wasn't in a very good mood and the female had managed to pinpoint his restlessness. "Yes, I am," he admitted reluctantly. "where's Rivian? I thought you went to the palace to find her?"

"Nope, didn't manage to see her." the theif drained her mug and poured herself more ale from the jug. "She's training; at least that's what the guards told me."

"Training... always training... training to be what? She can train when she gets in battles. I'm tired of sitting around here doing nothing. If she no longer needs our help, she should at least tell us." The knight grumbled.

"Anomen! Of course, Ri needs our help." Imoen turned to look at the man with a serious expression. "Why are you so angry?"

"Because I'm restless! That's why! There should be people who needs saving, grievances to be righted. Because she didn't even talk to us... Because of this wretched place..." the knight said bitterly.

"Because she's with Elhan." the thief pointed out, with a mischievous grin on her face.

"What? That's absurd. Are you implying I'm jealous?" the fighter sneered.

"You know, she'll be back eventually. You can tell her then, meanwhile just be patience. and go easy on the ale. Don't give our hosts the impression that we humans are drunkards. " Having said that, the mage drained her mug and walked off, leaving the knight to ponder over her words.

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"Swing your blade upwards, that way you can break my guard in this position." Elhan explained and swung his practice blade upwards, knocking the dummy's shield off.

"See? Now you try against me." The elf prince took the shield and held it in a defensive position.

Rivian took her elven blade and repeated the prince's earlier movements but the shield remained on the male's arm. The moon elf cocked her head in puzzlement.

"Harder, Rivian. Is that the way you swing your sword at an enemy? Strike hard." The prince advised.

The moon elf did as she was told and channelled her strength into a hard swing; the shield broke into half upon the powerful impact. Instantly, Rivian was at the prince's side, checking him for injuries from the blow. She smiled apologetically in relief when she found no wounds on the elf's smooth arm.

The blond-haired elf smiled in approval and wiped the perspiration from his forehead. "Well done. That's the way. Its mid day now, let's go for our mid day feast, I can cover the theories while we eat."

"Fine, all that practicing makes me hungry." Rivian agreed earnestly, much to the amusement of the elf prince.

--------------

"Ri, do you like Suldanessellar?" Elhan asked suddenly.

"Are you kidding? I _love_ Suldanessellar." the female replied in between chewing her bread. "Everything here is so beautiful, even this bread." To emphases her point, the sorceress lifted her last piece of bread and threw it into her waiting mouth and grinned at her spectator.

The prince smiled at the comical sight. He realized it was always amusing to watch the moon elf; she never ceased to amaze him and her smile was always wide and bright. He could not help but smile in return.

"Why did you pick an elven blade as your bladesinger weapon?" the elf leader asked, his golden eyes looking intently at the moon elf.

The female looked up in surprise at the question. She put down the second piece of bread she was about to bite and cleared her throat thoughtfully. Elhan had brought her to the armory and told her to choose a weapon for her new profession. Since bladesingers trained in their chosen weapon, the prince had advised her to consider her choice carefully. Rivian had browsed through the large collection of weapons; her eyes wandered over the many different kinds of swords, in all shapes and sizes but it was the elven blade with curved flowing designs etched unto the blade that caught her eye. Rivian thought the designs resembled a forest and felt an instant attachment to it. She took the slightly glowing sword from the weapon rack and found that the blade tapered on the slashing side while it remained flat on the other. It was not a highly enchanted blade but it was light and fast, providing easy opportunities to do serious damage; most importantly, such a weapon was not easily found outside elven cities and to own an elven made weapon meant having a link to the moon elf's heritage. Rivian hoped to draw strength from this link in difficult times and she had no doubt there will be.

"It is light and fast. My strength's lacking but my agility makes up for it, with this blade, I can do some serious damage."

"You have chosen well. Do you know who made this blade?" the prince asked with a twinkle in his eyes, the corners of his mouth twitched upwards slightly.

The sorceress shook her head; she was hardly familiar with elven sword smiths.

"It was one of my first few practice blades I made."

"You made this? It's amazing. This is one of the finest blades I've ever seen! The design, the sharpness of the blade and the lightness of it. Look! The blade is perfectly balanced." To demonstrate her point, the female unsheathe the sword and balanced it with her finger placed under the hilt.

Elhan chuckled. "Yes, I admit the workmanship is not too bad, but it's not one of my best."

"It's too good for me, Elhan. You... you are too good to me, I don't deserve this... to own an elven blade and to be trained by you to be a bladesinger... I... How am I to repay such a debt?" her silvery blue eyes misted with unshed tears met his. She saw that his golden eyes were kind and compassionate but there was also something there that Rivian did not understand.

The male elf placed his hand on Rivian's shoulders and stroked her unbound hair in a comforting fashion. "You saved my home. You saved Suldanessellar. That alone, is a deed well deserved to be sang by the bards. I know only too well the dangers of the realms. If you could remain in Suldanessellar, it would comfort me greatly but I know you can't. Rivian, there are others who wish you ill, for what you are and what you aren't."

Rivian thought of the death of Gorion. He was murdered because of her; Khalid was killed because of her as well and Imoen had suffered tremendously in Irenicus' hands because of what she was. With such depressing thoughts, the female sniffed and she suddenly found the tiles in the dining halls interesting.

The prince tiled her head up to face him; he looked into her sapphire-colored eyes and found sadness and anger; there was also strength and wisdom. In fact, Elhan had not thought much of the sorceress when he first saw her emerged from the Underdark entrance he was guarding. He barely trusted her; it was only the magic of his sages that verified her words that he had demanded her assistance to seek the way back to Suldanessellar. However, on the way back to the Forest of Tethyr, they were ambushed by scores of drow and the prince saw for himself how powerful her magic were. He respected her for her leadership abilities and battle skills. He only realized he had started to care for her after seeing the spellcaster put herself in danger to save some of his archers.

Elhan brushed a few stray strands off the moon elf's face and leaned forward to kiss her on the lips. It was a soft lingering peck on her lips and his eyes searched hers for any signs of protest or disapproval but found none. She closed her eyes and her lips parted slightly in anticipation. The prince need no further invitation and he closed his eyes and went in for a passionate kiss, his hands tangled in her silky mane. Their tongues met and the moon elf reached up to caress his face and to press him closer to her.

When they had to break for air, Elhan leaned further to kiss the female's ears and whispered, "Ri, if there's a home in Suldanessellar for you. Will you accept it?"

The invitation in his words was unmistakeable. Rivian's eyes went wide. _A home? I have a home? I can have a home? In Suldanessellar? For one such as me?_

"Are you sure I won't taint the beauty of Suldanessellar with my presence? The people tolerated me because I played a part in defeating Irenicus. I do not think they would welcome a Bhaalspawn living amongst them..." she replied sadly. "The evil in my blood... they sense it."

Elhan pulled her close to him, his arms encircling her neck. "Just tell me if you want a home here. I know there will be one day you can make this your home, only if you are willing, Ri." He looked pleadingly at her.

"I would love to, Elhan. If such a day exists, when I can live amongst my own people, I... I would love to." the sorceress answered truthfully, her voice shaking from the flow of emotions flooding through her.

"When the day comes, Ri, I hoped that living among the elves won't be the only reason you stay here." the prince whispered, his golden eyes gazing longingly at her.

The confession of his heart laid subtly in his words but Rivian understood. She kissed the prince fervently in response.


	9. Chapter 9: Farewell

**Reviews:**

Silver of Two Wings - Thanks for your review. Thanks for your review. Poor Anomen, I might have been too hard on him. I hope you like this chapter too.

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**Chapter 9: Farewell**

"Ellesime, you wanted to see me?" Elhan asked, a slight tone of irritation in his voice. The elf prince was training Rivian when he was summoned urgently by the queen to the throne room.

"I know you're busy coaching Rivian but I have grave news for you. Our sources had sent word that most of the Bhaalspawn are now gathered in Saradush and those who are not, are being murdered by their siblings everywhere in the realms. It is no longer safe for her to remain in Suldanessellar. The time has come for Rivian's destiny." The queen's voice had a weary edge to it, an indication that she had rehearsed the conversation several times before summoning her brother. Her eyes were sharp and focused on the prince's face, awaiting his reaction to her words.

Elhan's frown deepened; He had expected this day to come eventually but when it did, he found himself unable to let go - of that budding love between him and the moon elf. How could he claim to love her if he kicked her out of the safe walls of Suldanessellar the moment a threat comes knocking? Yet, he could not keep her in Suldanessellar especially knowing that eventually the Bhaalspawn would find their way into Suldanessellar; they would come for Rivian. When they do come, his people would suffer.

"Can we offer her no aid at all?" he asked, his voice lined with frustration and anger. Anger at himself for not being of more help to the one he cared.

"You are already helping her; we have already made an exception in her case to be accepted for bladesinger training..." Ellesime answered wearily.

Elhan scowled at his sister, something he did not do often in over two centuries. "She's not ready. Letting her leave now is like sending her to her grave. How can I do that?"

"My dear brother, you're too attached to her. Yes, she saved Suldanessellar, she saved me but she's still an outsider. Her blood's evil. "

"Ellesime, are you telling me to stay away from her because her blood's evil? Are you listening to what you're saying? She's not evil and that's good enough for me!" the prince snapped, his frustration reaching a peak. "Did you sense Jonaleth's blood was evil too? Because he was certainly good enough for you, wasn't he?"

The queen snapped up from her throne at her brother's last remarks. Hurt and shock evident on her face and her amber-eyes lined with tears. Elhan knew he had overstepped the line and hung his head in shame. "Forgive me, I... didn't mean that."

The female sighed deeply before she sat down on her throne again. "You love her." It was a statement and Elhan nodded slowly. Ellesime let out the breath she had been holding and rubbed her temples, feeling a throbbing headache forming.

"Your duty here or her, which is your choice?" she asked quietly, almost afraid to hear the prince's answer.

Elhan's frown didn't move but his reply was quick, given without any hesitation. "My duty." There was an immense sadness in his eyes and Ellesime did not miss it.

The queen got up from her throne and walked up to her brother, who stood several inches taller. She brushed a few stray strands off the prince's face, and brought it down so she could meet his eyes at the same level. "Do what your heart desires then. I don't want you to live in regret as I have." Then she kissed him on his forehead and left the throne room.

---------------

Since the conversation with the queen, Elhan had not let himself rest for the past three days. _There was just no time to_, the prince thought to himself. He trained Rivian in the day and worked in the forge at night, making a magnificent weapon for her - an elven blade made of mithral making the sword extreme light and easy to maneuver. The handle was made of an extremely light wood, gilded with gold, and a carved pommel in the shape of a leaf. He etched the flowing designs that Rivian loved on his old practice blade on the exquisite sword with great care and it had turned out quite well. The elf smiled to himself as he admired his masterpiece.

Now it was the time to enchant the weapon and the enchantments he had in mind were the results of observing the sorceress in battle and accessing her strengths and weakness; the blade would provide her an edge in battle, he would make sure of that.

At last he placed the blade on the anvil and started chanting the spells required. It would take him the whole night to do it and despite feeling fatigue, he willed himself to concentrate on his task.

---------------

The group of adventurers stood before the magnificent gates of Suldanessellar. It was time to leave the elven city and Queen Ellesime was there to bid the group farewell. She handed three bags of provisions and another bag containing potions to Jaheria who accepted them gratefully with a bow.

"Sweetwater and light laughter until next we meet." the queen held Rivian's hands.

"Sweetwater and light laughter until next we meet," the moon elf repeated the farewell phrase and bowed in respect. She scanned the crowd for Elhan but did not find his handsome face amongst the crowd that had gathered at the gates.

"He will come," the queen said, observing the disappointed look on the bladesinger's pale face.

As if on cue, Elhan emerged from the crowd, looking extremely tired and relieved to make it in time. His blonde hair was unbounded and dark circles lined his eyes. When his eyes found Rivian, they lit up instantly. The queen excused herself to give the couple some privacy and likewise, Jaheria led the adventurers through the gates, pushing an annoyed Anomen out when he lingered behind.

"I apologize for my tardiness...", the prince paused to catch his breath and pushed a sword and a bundle into the moon elf's hands. "Take this", he said simply.

"Elhan... I have a blade already, you gave it to me." The moon elf looked confused.

"No Rivian, this is _Enelya_, almost a twin of my old practice blade, made of the same material and even similar in design but with more powerful enchantments. Enchantments that compliment your skills. This is the one blade for you. It's crafted especially for you, please keep it." The prince took the elf's hands and placed the elven blade in them. "And I've upgraded the enchantments on the Aslyferund's elven chain mail for you." He pointed at the bundle on the moon elf's arm.

Rivian admired the sword, the sheath was black in color and lined with carvings of leaves in gold, and the light wooden hilt offered a firm grip. The moon elf drew the sword, and instantly felt a surge of energy flowing through her, giving her more strength. She marveled at the lightness of the slightly blue colored blade. It felt even lighter than the one tucked at her belt and with powerful magic radiated from it.

"It's simply beautiful, Elhan. I shall treasure your gift in my heart. You stayed up just to forge this for me?" she asked, in her voice shaking from the emotions, touched at his loving gesture.

The prince did not reply, but pulled the moon elf into a hug. He leaned in for a kiss and their lips touched. It was a sad farewell kiss, one that left them both wanting more.

"I'm sorry, Ri. I really wanted to go with you but I can't. As the prince of Suldanessellar, I must serve the queen and the people. "He explained sadly, his eyes met hers and his fingers still entwined in her hair.

"I understand, Elhan. I will not want you to go into danger with me. I thank you for everything... thank you for your love." she whispered, a drop of tear fell from her blue eyes. She caressed the elf's face longingly; afraid that it would be the last time she laid eyes on him. She felt a lump in her throat. "I... love you, Elhan." she managed to say, before she gave in to the need for another passionate kiss.

"Farewell, Love of my life. My heart shall weep until it sees thee again," Elhan wiped away the tears lining in his eyes, and removed his old practice blade from the sorceress' belt. "I'll keep this one." he said and held the sword close to his chest.

Rivian wept as she turned from the elf prince and walked towards the opened gates, her footsteps heavy. When she walked pass the gates, she took one last look at her love and the elven city she had come to love. Elhan waved back sadly. Wiping the tears from her eyes with her sleeve, she waved farewell at him and stepped beyond the city gates. The magical gates swung close and made a loud _crank_ as the magic sealed the gates.


	10. Chapter 10: Back In The Abyss

**Note:**

I hated the original version of this chapter and the more I read over it, the more I detested it. It just sounded weak, so I've replaced the old one with this version. Changes mainly reflected Imoen's responses. I think this one fits better than the original. For those who are curious, the original version featured a pansy Imoen.

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**Chapter 10: Back In The Abyss**

Rivian stared at the abomination in front of her; the spirit of her father's murderer stared back defiantly, wearing a crooked gloating smile. Rivian clenched her fists, resisting the urge to tear him apart. Behind her, she heard Imoen growled.

"Is there no other way at all?" Rivian asked Saravok, and met his amber gaze with distaste; her voice calm and emotionless despite the dark feelings stirring in her.

"No, don't resurrect him. He deserved to die. Ri..." the pink-haired mage turned the elf towards her and shook her, but the sorceress's eyes remained fixed on ethereal being.

"Haha, pitiful little sister, always afraid of me." Saravok laughed sardonically at the girl. Then he turned his attention to Rivian and replied. "No other way, though I can accept a piece of our little pink sister's soul if you want." Imoen's eyes widen in anger at the remark. "But for the record, bearing a piece of her sugar-sweet nature does not appeal to me." he scorned.

"I'm not afraid of you, you're dead and should remain so!" Imoen retorted, enraged.

Rivian placed her arm over the mage to calm her down. She met her eyes and saw determination in them.

"Ri, use mine. You have sacrificed greatly for me and I want to do something for you. If you must resurrect him, use me."

"No. I cannot let you do that, my sister." the sorceress hugged Imoen and was rewarded with a fierce embrace from the girl.

"I can do it, Ri. I'm not afraid."

"I know you're not, Imoen but I'll do it. It is my decision to restore Saravok and I should be the one to pay his price." she nodded to the thief who sighed her resignation.

"So be it." the elf replied, turning to the waiting spirit. There was no other way to escape the pocket plane and to meet the killer of Gorion again was not a pleasant feeling.

"No! Ri. You can't be serious." Anomen latched onto the elf's arm and dragged the female aside.

"I have to, Anomen. There is no other way." She shook her arm free, her eyes hinted annoyance at the interruption.

"Know that, I do not approve of this! He reeked of evil." the knight protested, bringing a scowl on the elf's smooth visage. She ignored the fighter and walked towards the waiting apparition.

"How do I give you a piece of my soul?"

"Just your permission will do. I will do the rest." the spirit replied earnestly.

Rivian nodded and Saravok approached her; a golden ethereal hand stretched and touched the elf, a small ray of light escaped from the sorceress and entered the spirit; its body glowed brighter and started taking a solid shape. Eventually, the glow diminished, leaving a body of Saravok in place.

"FINALLY! I HAVE CHEATED DEATH!" he laughed sardonically. "Thank you sister. And now, the information you required..." With a wave of his hand, a ray of blue light shot through the barrier on the group's left and revealed a room. "In there lies your challenge. Win it and the way out will be opened to you."

Rivian nodded and was about to turn towards the new room when Saravok barred her way. "What else do you want?" she asked warily, her hand laid casually on the hilt of _Enelya_.

"I... I want to go with you, sister." The man said hesitantly. "I know you're wary of me, but I can be of help to you, in fact..." He took one glance at the other adventurers and sneered. "I will be more useful than any of your useless companions here."

"Watch your mouth, rat!" Anomen snapped and drew his warhammer. Jaheria quickly restrained him and he was about to protest when he caught sight of the sharp look Rivian gave him and winced. It was an order for him to back down.

"You will not insult any of my friends, if you wish to join my group." the elf warned sternly. Saravok scoffed but nodded. "How would I know you won't stab me in the back at the next chance you get?"

"A fair question. I will swear to a geas, if you like. It will bind me to you." the seven feet tall man answered.

The bladesinger frowned at the mention of a geas. She disliked the notion of subjugating another's will with a magical binding. "No geas. Just your word will be good enough for me."

Saravok's jaw dropped. "What? My word? That's all you want?"

Rivian nodded.

"Fine. You have my word. If I didn't know you better, sister. I would have thought you a fool." The man replied, amazed and confused.

"Good. Now let's equip you." Rivian started to search her Bag of Holding for suitable equipment for the tall human. Imoen frowned while Anomen looked at the man in disgust.

---------------------

"Rivian, I must have a word with you." Anomen dragged the elf away from the others at camp. Rivian nodded wearily and followed the cleric.

"Are you insane? You let that abomination joined us with just his word? Rivian! His word cannot be trusted." The knight said, his tone harsher than he intended.

Rivian frowned. "Saravok's got a point. His knowledge and research on the prophecy will be helpful. That knowledge might be the key to our survival. You've already seen what a geas did to Yoshimo. Surely you don't expect me to put a geas on another? If I did so, then I'm no better than Irenicus." she explained wearily, feeling a throbbing headache forming at her temples.

"But... you let him tag along with no guarantee... What if, he kill you while you're asleep?" the fighter's voice toned down slightly and he looked at the elf with a concerned look.

"There are no guarantees, Anomen. But he won't, because all he wanted was power from me. It will be to his disadvantage if I die."

"I still don't like it, Rivian. He's up to no good." the knight insisted, though his voice mellowed.

Rivian pet the knight on his back and flashed an assuring grin. "I'll watch him. You should get some rest." she started to walk towards their camp but the knight held her hand. Rivian raised her eyebrow, confused.

"Ri, the talk we had in Suldanessellar. I want to know your thoughts..." the fighter said quietly, his dark eyes looking intently at her.

The sorceress blushed and shifted uncomfortably, chewing her lips thoughtfully. She kept quiet for a long time, until Anomen cleared his throat politely to remind her that he was waiting for her answer. She finally looked up at him and met his dark gaze.

"I... um... don't think we'll be suitable for each other. " she answered simply, feeling the heat of her blood rushing to her cheeks.

"Ri, if there's something you don't like of me, tell me. I can change." the tone of his voice was soft and uncertain.

"No, its not you. I'm sorry. Anomen. I... I'm promised to Elhan." the bladesinger replied, not quite sure what she had just said was true. Her relationship with Elhan had not developed to that extent but it was what she desired.

"Am I that inferior to him?" he murmured, the words came out barely audible and Rivian winced. It was not her intention to hurt the cleric.

"No, you're not. You have your strengths. I just feel closer to Elhan."

"Because he's an elf and I'm not?" the cleric asked, his eyes searching the elf's face for answers.

Rivian exhaled and she nodded. Anomen's shoulders slumped at her response and he sighed. Neither of them spoke for a while and the silence that followed was awkward. The bladesinger searched her mind for something suitable to say but it was the knight who broke the silence.

"Alright. Let's get some rest." he nodded calmly and turned towards their camp.

Rivian exhaled deeply. _That didn't go too bad._ she thought.

--------------------

Imoen was waiting for her when Rivian approached her bedroll.

"Are you sure?" the thief asked, referring to her decision to let Saravok joined the group.

Rivian sighed. "Saravok had already paid his debt to me. And now I need his knowledge and expertise on the prophecy. Elhan had warned me that he suspect an conspiracy. I needed to know more."

"Saravok's a murderer! He killed Gorion. There's nothing to stop him from killing us when we least expected. We don't need him in the party, Ri." the mage disagreed.

"Imoen, will you give him a chance like you would if he had been anyone else?" The sorceress took the girl's hands in her own.

The mage looked at the elf with uncertainity. She did not answer her immediately. Rivian knew she was thinking and finally the mage replied. "Saravok's not anyone else, sister."

"Then what will you have me do? Kill him again? He does not deserve a second death when he has not earned that." Rivian watched her words sunk in the girl.

"He's evil, Ri. If you must have him in the party, I will abide to your decision. But I'll watch him and if he as much as twitch when he's not supposed to, he'd better watch his back. I'm not the girl I once was, and he'd do well to remember that." She sounded very determined and Rivian noticed her fists clenched.

The elf held the mage's hands in her own. "I will watch him too, sister." She let herself smile when she felt the girl's fists relaxed in her hands.


	11. Chapter 11: A Prince's Duty

**Chapter 11: A Prince's Duty**

Elhan poked at his dinner; his thoughts involved a particular moon elf. Ellesime noted her brother's disinterest in his dinner and the fact that they hadn't spoken a word since Rivian left. The queen was worried about her brother. They had been siblings for more than two centuries and Elhan's recent behavior was nothing short of unusual.

"Elhan. You haven't been eating much."

The prince snapped to attention, his eyes finally focused on his sister. He blinked but did not reply.

"Are you unwell?" Ellesime asked.

He shook his head and resumed poking his dinner plate.

"Did you rest well these few days?" the queen persisted in her questioning.

Elhan looked up to meet her amber gaze and nodded.

"Elhan. I hear you pacing in your room every night. You're not resting at all." the female elf pointed out.

The prince smiled sheepishly and shrugged.

The queen was annoyed. "Elhan! Stop torturing yourself." she chastised.

"I'm not, Ellesime. I can't help thinking about her. I'm worried. What if she doesn't survive all this Bhaalspawn mess? She hasn't really been able to combine the power of the Bladesong with her sword fighting. That's only natural, considering how much time she really had. I wish I had more time to train her."

"You should have gone with her then." the queen pointed out.

"I would, if I'm not the prince of Suldanessellar!" the younger elf retorted.

"Elhan, pack your supplies, you can still catch up. I can tend to the city."

The prince shook his head. "You need me here." he insisted stubbornly.

The queen sighed. "No, I don't. Your heart's not even here, Elhan. You are so distracted that you are hardly useful. And you haven't smiled at all since. My brother, I don't want you to stay here when your heart lies several miles away. Go to her."

The war leader looked at his queen, unsure if he should heed her suggestion. He contemplated with the idea of traveling with a group of adventurers; it was not something a responsible prince should do.

Ellesime recognized her brother's hesitation. "Just go, Elhan. I can manage, Suldanessellar is at peace. Should I need you, I will personally teleport you back wherever you are. Go to your love."

The prince beamed. He flashed the brightest smile the queen had even seen and left the dining halls quickly. Ellesime thought of her love and sighed. She remembered the fond memories she shared with Jonaleth and it made her sad that her love was no more. She prayed that Elhan and Rivian would have a better fate.

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Elhan made his way to Saradush, the last known destination of his love. He had travelled light, the need for haste. A change of clothes and supplies was all he carried. He wore his enchanted green battle armor, a long silver bow and a quiver of arrows slung on his back and attached to his belt laid a beautiful long sword, shelthed in gold - his chosen bladesinger weapon. He was near to the city, according to the map he held. Another hour on horseback, he estimated. The elf urged his white mare on, his heart beating excitedly from the prospects of see his love again.

It had been a month since Rivian left Suldanessular and there had been no news of her since. Elhan was worried and as he neared the city, he heard rumours of Saradush under siege. He became increasingly worried. His keen eyesight caught sight of thick smoke in the distance.

_No! is Saradush burning? Has the city fallen?_

At last, he could make out the city walls in the distance. Thick black smoke was rising within the walls; buildings were smoldering and he could still hear the siege weapons firing stones smashing against the city walls. Saradush had fallen. Elhan stared in dismay. His thoughts in disarray as he frantically tried to calm himself and think positively. _A mile or two more._ The mare galloped on at full speed.

His ears picked up the sounds of fighting. Battle cries of Saradush's defendents and enemies alike; weapons clashing and screams of the wounded. He charged his horse towards the direction of the fight, a ray of hope rekindled in his heart. With the fighting still going on, there was a chance Rivian was still alive.

As the mare took him nearer to the battlefield, he saw two groups of people engaging in a battle. The larger group wore some form of uniform, the rest seemed to be make up of refugees and soldiers from Saradush, fighting for their lives. He could not see their faces clearly, the thick smoke obstructing his sight.

And then he heard it, above all the loud war cries and the sounds of weapons clashing. He heard the familiar, deadly haunting music of a bladesinger. His heart leaped at the recognition. _It had to be her. Rivian... I come._ It was so soft that he did not hear it at first, drowned by the noise of fighting but Elhan's ears were attuned to the magic of the bladesong.

And then in between the smoldering ruins, he saw the familiar face of the moon elf. His heart leaped, and he felt his adrenaline rushing. She was alive but clearly exhausted, a nasty gush could be seen on her left arm and she was bleeding from several wounds. Her lips moved and humming the Bladesong, the magic in the melody lending strength to her as she slashed deep at a fire giant on the leg. The giant fell hard on the ground, leaving his throat open and a seven feet tall man took the opportunity and slashed at the vulnerable point. A huge gush of blood sprayed from the wound, drenched the fighter in crimson red; Elhan wrinkled his nose in disgust.

There was only one giant left standing and he was larger and stronger than the rest, no doubt their leader. As the mare galloped within range, Elhan removed his bow from his back, slinged an arrow and aimed for the giant's neck. Rivian was hacking away at the giant's feet and Elhan could see the giant did not even flinch at the minor cuts on his feet. With a swipe of his huge mace, the group struggled to steer clear of the weapon's range. The moon elf scrambled behind the giant and with a mighty leap, jumped onto his back and slashed the giant, before jumping off and quickly rolling aside, expecting the giant to retaliate. Their huge enemy howled in pain and swung the mace at the moon elf.

At this moment, the druid sent a swarm of stinging insects towards their enemy; with the giant distracted, Elhan finally let his arrow loose. It hit its target, and lodged itself through the giant's throat, his eyes rolled back and the body fell onto the ground, the sorceress barely leaped away in time to avoid being crushed.

The battle was over and the moon elf's eyes finally looked towards the direction where the arrow was shot and found Elhan's wide grin. She smiled, and waited for him to reach her. As Elhan willed his mare towards the adventurers, his grin promptly disappeared when he saw before his very eyes, the moon elf vanished into thin air.

"NO! Rivian!" the bladesinger screamed and got off his horse.


	12. Chapter 12: A Debt

**Reviews:**

**Li'l Red Ace**: Thanks for your review. Stay tuned for Anomen's reaction to the new party addition. :p

**Silver of Two Wings**: Thanks for your support, posted the next chapter within the week just for you. Hope you like it.

* * *

**Chapter 12: A Debt**

"I greet you godchild," the calm, serene voice of the Solar said.

"Your timing is not very convenient." Rivian grumbled, irritated at being interrupted from her reunion with Elhan. She took a quick glance around and found herself back at the Pocket Plane. _Just great._ she sighed.

"I bring forth your mother." The solar ignored the elf's remark and a human woman was summoned. "Tell her, Alianna." she commanded.

Rivian raised her eyebrow curiously, considering the woman in front of her. _My mother?_ Their eyes met and the elf winced at the frost in the human's green eyes. It was cold and held no love for her.

"I was commanded by Bhaal to give birth to a child, to be sacrificed on the altar to bring back my god." the woman said coldly and paused. She pointed a finger maliciously at the moon elf and continued. "She was the one I gave birth to. Her sole purpose is to die to restore my God."

The moon elf shivered involuntarily. The Solar waved her hand and another figure appeared; a man with a tall hat.

"I stumbled onto the ritual and rescued the child, setting the other children free. We fought hard against the Bhaal fanatics and I could only rescue one child. There were two near me but I picked this one." He pointed at the moon elf, his tone was calm but not cold.

Rivian gasped at the familiar voice. _Gorion..._

"Father, do you recognize me?" she clinched onto the sleeve of the man, pleading for him to look at her but he did not react. The moon elf turned to look at the Solar with a questioning look.

The Solar summoned a third figure, this one considerably smaller; a young boy.

"I would have given much to be the one the man picked." The boy paused, looking at Gorion sadly and continued. "I was tortured, abused by my foster father. I would have turned out different if he had picked me."

Rivian felt a pang of guilt and pity for the boy. _He looked so sad and small._

The sorceress considered the Solar's question. It was true, Gorion played a major part of what she had become. She could have switched places with Saravok and walked his path instead. The moon elf nodded. "Yes, there is a debt. I could have just as easily have had his life, and he mine."

The solar smiled kindly and pointed a finger at a barrier behind the elf, a blue jolt of energy destroyed the barrier and revealed a room. "Your challenge awaits." she said quietly.

The moon elf found herself teleported again.

----------------------------

The moon elf blinked; her mind in a warp of confusion. She blinked several more times and tried to concentrate her mind to shake off the teleportation daze. She heard voices and someone called her name. Then someone shook her gently. Finally her eyes focused and she found herself looking at a concerned Elhan.

"Elhan?" she murmured his name, for an instant, unable to believe he was holding her. Then she remembered seeing his face before being teleported away by the Solar.

"Yes, Ri. Are you alright?" he asked, his eyes checking her body for injuries and a frown appeared when he found her bloody arm. "You're hurt." Without waiting for the elf to reply, the prince dug into his bag and pulled out a roll of bandages. Before he attempted to wrap the sorceress's wounds, a hand stopped him. The prince glanced up to meet the dark gaze of Anomen.

"Allow me." the cleric said quietly, holding his holy symbol of Helm and began a prayer for a healing spell.

Elhan nodded and stood aside.

"Rivian. I'm so glad you're alive." A woman shrieked and pushed Anomen aside after he healed the sorceress and positioned herself in front of the elf, demanding attention. The knight snorted in annoyance but he did not protest, instead his eyes caught sight of Imoen struggling with her wounds and he walked towards the girl, with one hand holding his holy symbol.

Elhan studied the woman and felt an uneasy feeling about her. He did not find her trustworthy. He turned to look at the moon elf and found her brows kneaded together slightly, a sign of annoyance.

"The bhaalspawn are all dead. So few of us barely managed to escape Saradush." the woman whined, wiping her tears with her sleeve in a dramatic fashion.

Elhan thought there was some falsity with the way she spoke of the city falling, it was as though she was glad.

"Melissan, how did you escape when so many others didn't?" Rivian asked, her eyes observing the woman intently.

Melissan twitched, her expression was unreadable for a moment before her face resumed a mask of sadness. "I was lucky, and a few others. Never mind that, I have important news for you." Her dismissal tone made it clear that she did not wish to explain herself further.

Elhan snorted. _This woman's definitely hiding something._

Rivian kept her visage indifferent. She nodded for the woman to continue.

"You must go to Amkethran where my ally will offer some help to you. He will give you some information to locate Yaga Shura's remaining allies. They will never stop hunting you, your best chance to take them out is to surprise them. Go, with haste, there is no time to lose." She pulled a map from her sleeve and gave it to the elf. "I'll meet you there, Rivian." And she teleported herself away.

"I don't trust her, Ri" Elhan said, examining the moon elf's wounds and was relieved to find the gash on her arm healed without a scratch.

Rivian nodded. "I don't trust her either. But we don't have a choice, Amkethran will be our next destination." she murmured. Then suddenly she remembered Elhan's sudden appearance. "Why are you here, Elhan? Shouldn't you be in Suldanessellar?"

Elhan grinned and he blushed. "I... miss you." he whispered.

Rivian smiled and she said. "I miss you too." Their eyes locked.

Someone coughed and both elves turned to look at Imoen grinning at them. She turned to Elhan and winked. "Hello prince." she giggled and slapped the moon elf's arm playfully.

"Boo says elf prince is a sight for sore eyes." Minsc chipped in happily and his gauntleted hand petted the male elf's shoulders roughly.

Elhan smiled brightly at the huge Rashman. He had a special liking for the simple-minded and kind ranger.

Saravok cleared his throat and all eyes turned to the fighter. "You shot the arrow?" he showed the bloody arrow that killed Yaga Shura to Elhan. Rivian wrinkled her nose in disgust at the blood dripping off the arrow.

The blonde-haired elf nodded.

"Good shot." he commented. Elhan nodded his thanks at the compliment.

"Saravok, meet Prince Elhan of Suldanessellar." Rivian introduced, then pointing at Saravok, she turned to the prince and said simply, "This is Saravok."

"Her brother." Saravok continued, ignoring Imoen's scorn at his term of endearment.

Elhan's eyes flashed surprise. "You're one of the Children? Strange, I did not see the taint in you."

Saravok smiled malevolently. "You're quite perceptive, elf prince. I was a Bhaalspawn and commanded great power but thanks to my sister here," he turned and looked at the moon elf before continuing. "she made sure I'm not one anymore. But, I should still be grateful because I'm alive once again." he frowned but the look in his eyes softened, the malevolent gleam gone.

Elhan chewed his lips thoughtfully. He couldn't help feeling there was something unnatural about the seven feet tall fighter. He looked at Rivian but found no answers on her face.

"Another challenge lies in the pocketplane." the moon elf announced to change the subject and she found the corners of her lips twitched upwards when she heard Anomen and Imoen groaned behind her.

-------------------

After Anomen and Jaheria healed most of the injuries the group sustained from the battle against Yaga Shura, Rivian teleported them back to the pocket plane. Elhan stood observing his new surroundings with a frown on his face. It looked like a dark and cold cavern, with five tunnels leading from the center. Two ancient statues caught his eyes and he felt a shiver down his spine at the way the statues stared back at him. The group had taken out their bedrolls and started getting ready for rest.

The most curious thing about the cavern was that there were no doors or openings. The only means of exit was by teleportation. Elhan drew his sword when he heard strange out worldly sounds near him. Something behind him jumped at the sight of the blade, the elf turned and found himself staring at an imp.

"No. No hurt Caspenar. Caspenar good butler to the Great One. Oh yesss." The imp covered his face with his scrawny hands and ran towards Rivian. He promptly hid himself behind the moon elf and wailed.

Rivian's amused grin assured the elf prince that there was no danger from the creature, so he sheathed his blade. "He's harmless, Elhan", she tried to stifle a laugh but failed.

Elhan could hear Imoen laughing behind him. "It's an imp, yes? Evil creature?" the war leader asked, raising his eyebrow curiously.

"Caspenar, no evil. Caspenar served the Great One" the butler wailed.

"You're alright, Caspenar. Elhan won't harm you. Why don't you go get us some food? Elhan will be much nicer after you bring him something to eat." the moon elf pet the imp. On hearing that, the creature happily hopped away, repeating the elf's words to himself.

Imoen laughed. "Good call, sister, I'm starving."

Elhan could not hide his grin.

-----------------

Elhan set his bedroll next to Rivian after dinner. He was hesitant to eat the food Caspenar brought but two weeks of eating dry provisions and having the moon elf's company worked up an appetite. The bladesinger found himself hungry and watching Rivian eating without reservations, he finally gave in and helped himself to the food too.

"What?" He noticed Rivian staring at him with a grin on her face; thinking there was dirt on his face, he removed his kerchief from his sash and wiped his chin vigorously.

"Your face's fine." the moon elf chuckled and took the kerchief away. She moved besides the bladesinger and leaned over to plant a small kiss on his cheek.

Elhan blushed. Rivian sat besides him on his bedroll, her hands intertwined in his. She placed her head against his shoulders and sighed contently.

"I'm glad you're here, Elhan. Your presence... gives me strength to face any challenges."

The prince put his arm around the female and hugged her close. He inhaled her scent deeply, remembered it in his mind and kissed her blue hair.

They enjoyed that brief moment of bliss.


	13. Chapter 13: Challenge

**Reviews**

R Little Dragon: Thank you. You're right, Imoen had to be a strong girl by now, the poor thing.

Assamith: A little bliss for the elves at Anomen's expense. :p Thank you for your review.

Silver of Two Wings: Don't we all hate Melissan's guts? Minsc would love to kick her butt and he'll get to, in due time.

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**Chapter 13: Challenge**

Rivian led her friends into the last room the Solar unlocked; an invisible barrier appeared behind them and sealed off their exit. The group waited in anticipation for the challenge to present itself and they did not have to wait long, five dimension gates appeared and five figures stepped out. Their leader wearing a familiar black full plate amour that had spikes edging out of the shoulder and elbow pads - Sarevok's old amour. Rivian heard her brother gasped in recognition of his old amour from behind her.

The sorceress observed her challenge; one human archer with a long bow - _Angolo_, another man that looked like a mage judging from his robe and the staff he wielded - _Samej_, a female warrior with a katana - _Tamako_. Rivian recognized the female warrior from Kara-Tur, she was Sarevok's lover. Curious at what the fighter's reaction to his lover's presence, the sorceress stole a glance at her brother from the corner of her eye and found him staring at the woman, his expression unreadable. The elf returned her gaze to her challenge, next to the woman stood a seven feet tall orc - _Tazok_. And lastly the bladesinger met the dark gaze of their leader, who wore the same face as her - herself.

Rivian understood her challenge; she had recognized every face of the newcomers and they were all Sarevok's formers generals, powerful and loyal to him. Seeing herself in Sarevok's intimidating armor could only mean one thing; she was facing a replica of herself trading places with Sarevok.

The sorceress quickly signed to her party her strategy. _"Take out Semaj"_, she signed to Imoen at the back; she nodded and moved further back. _Summon allies._ she signed to Jaheria who nodded. Before she could communicate more instructions , battle cries were heard from their enemies and the battle begun.

Jaheria quickly started chanting the spell for summoning elementals and Minsc moved in to engage Tazok. Boo squeaked in excitement and the huge Rashaman maneuvered his heavy two handed sword with ease, clashing against the orc's heavy blade.

A short distance away, Imoen started her incantations to conjure a planar. It was a complex spell and required her utmost concentration as the words gathered energy to form a link to the celestial plane. Her forehead was wet with droplets of perspiration flowing as she wrestled for control over the process. Finally a gateway opened and a planar appeared. The mage directed it to disrupt Semaj's spellcasting.

Elhan drew his weapon from his scabbard and moved to attack Angelo. The archer was firing arrows at Imoen, wearing out layers of her stoneskin protection. The archer dodged a quick swipe of the elf's blade, dropped his bow and drew his scimitar.

On the other side, Rivian moved backwards, and attempted to cast a spell but she found herself facing her evil copy as the fighter sought her out, ignoring Anomen's attempts to engage her. The clone's eyes flashed red and nimbly dodged the cleric's war hammer, slipped behind him and kicked him viciously from the back. Anomen rolled away in pain. Sensing that she was the copy's next target, Rivian gave up the spell she was casting, the purple energy dissipated and drew _Enelya_ in time to parry a strike.

_Fighting myself is not really one of my strengths. _She winced as she dodged a breath too late to avoid a slash; a bloody gash appeared on her arm. Rivian found herself staring at the frosty eyes of her evil twin. "Curse the challenges." she grumbled as she whirled herself around to avoid another deadly slash from her copy.

At the corner of her eyes, she caught sight of Sarevok defending himself against Tamako. The katana-wielder showed no mercy, however and viciously attacked the fighter, cutting through skin and amour whenever the fighter was hesitant.

A battle cry quickly claimed the elf's attention and she skipped to the left, avoiding her clone's cut but lost a few strands of her hair to the sharp sword. "Nine hells" she cursed, frustrated and amazed at how powerful her opponent was with the blade.

A distance away from the moon elf, Elhan plunged his sword into Angelo's abdomen and glanced around. Sarevok was the nearest to him and he observed the fighter's struggles against Tamako. _"What's the fool doing? He's going to get himself killed." _The bladesinger ran to aid the fighter.

"Why are you not attacking our enemy?" The elf chastised the fighter, parrying a whirlwind attack from the woman.

"I can't. Not Tamako..." The former bhaalspawn replied, his eyes flashed painful memories.

"Then go and help Ri. I will take it from here."

"Fine, watch yourself." The fighter looked grateful and ran to help the moon elf.

Elhan dodged and parried, seeing an opening, he seized it and slashed at the woman. She winced but attacked more viciously in return. Elhan concentrated on his bladesong, the melody granting him enhanced agility and strength. He turned and jumped gracefully, going behind Tamako's guard in a flowing motion and attempted to stab her from behind, but she turned around and parried the strike in time. The bladesinger got distracted when he heard a shriek from Imoen; he took a quick look and saw her arm bleeding from a wound from Tazok's blade. A quick look was all he could spare as his opponent took the moment and slashed him across his thigh, drawing blood. She smiled menacingly at him and licked her lips.

Elhan growled in pain. It was a deep cut, his thigh was bleeding profusely and he knew he was growing weaker from the blood loss. He needed to finish his opponent soon. Using his most powerful bladesong ability, he changed the tune he was humming. The new song granted him resistance to physical attacks and regeneration. His sword glowed golden as he activated the magic in his sword, and with a mighty strike, he broke through the woman's parry and stabbed her in the chest. As the woman fall, he removed a vial from his belt and drained it, feeling the healing magic closed the nasty wound on his thigh.

Rivian parried a strike from her evil twin but she was too strong for the sorceress. As Rivian found herself losing the deadlock against the menacing fighter, someone kicked her opponent from behind. Despite the heavy armor, the sorceress watched in amazement as the fighter rolled aside nimbly and was on her feet in no time. Rivian glanced up to meet the amber eyes of Sarevok who wasted no time in slashing at the copy. When she caught his eye, the elf nodded her thanks and joined in the melee.

With her brother keeping her copy busy, Rivian quickly conjured an invisible blade to aid them and started casting another spell. Her fingers gesturing the symbols of the spell and her brow kneaded together in concentration as her lips muttered the words for a Time Stop spell. As she finished the complex spell, the surroundings dulled and movement because lethargic before finally slowing to a halt as everyone became frozen. Taking the brief moment of peace, the moon elf quickly gulped a healing potion and continued to cast some protection and offensive spells. Within a few breaths, she had cast a new stoneskin spell and was throwing Greater Malison at her replica.

The chaos resumed as the effects of the Time Stop spell wore off. Sensing she was at a disadvantage, the clone distanced herself from the siblings and transformed into Slayer - a manifestation of the godly essence within them. _Not again_ Rivian groaned and teamed up with Sarevok to engaged the monster. The Slayer's strikes were fast and furious, the claws slashing against their armors and skin. Sarevok winced as he felt claws got through his guard and ripped the skin on his shoulder. Rivian was instantly between them, tossing a healing potion to the fighter as she struggled to distract the creature. Within her, she felt her shadow danced, provoked by her opponent's transformation.

Another sword lent her aid and she looked to her left to see Elhan's brief nod. The war leader hummed his bladesong as he fought against the slayer in a fluid dance. Rivian observed in awe as she watched Elhan swerving and weaving nimbly avoiding the monster's claws and using its strength against itself, he forced back the creature's attacks.

The moon elf joined in, singing her bladesong as she let _Enelya_ turned and whirled, scoring a few small cuts on the creature's thick skin. As Sarevok joined the couple, he rolled behind and stabbed the slayer's back. Taking the brief moment of shock on the monster as it glanced back and slashed at the former Bhaalspawn, Rivian tilted _Enelya_ upwards and invoked the mythril blade's magic and pushed the sword through the creature's throat with all her might. She watched as the huge creature gurgled on its own blood and disintegrated into dust.

"Are you alright?" the elf prince asked, as he wiped the perspiration and blood off his brow.

Rivian nodded and scanned the battlefield. She saw Anomen and Jaheria healing Minsc's wounds and Imoen was walking around checking the remains on the ground. The cleric's eyes glanced up to meet her gaze; his dark eyes looking her from top to toe, checking for wounds. Rivian managed an assuring smile and she continued looking around the battlefield, until she saw Sarevok staring into space, a vacant look in his amber eyes.

"You have not forgotten her, have you?" the moon elf placed her hand on her brother's shoulder.

Sarevok looked up at her with a miserable look. "You killed her." he replied, with a sour expression.

The elf winced and sighed. "You had a hand in her death too, Sarevok." she pointed out, not unkindly.

The fighter chose not to comment on the last statement. He sighed and nodded after a while. "I did have a hand in her death, didn't I?" he mumbled to himself, remembering his last battle with the moon elf, he had accused his lover of betraying him when she insisted that she led the moon elf and her party to him to protect his sanity. He had been so angry with her then, the shadow within him convinced him that she deserved death.

The elf placed her hand on the man's shoulders and squeezed it lightly, breaking his line of thoughts. Sarevok met her gaze curiously in response. "She did not betray you, brother." the moon elf said kindly. She found the man's golden eyes flashed surprise at her familial address. It was the first time she addressed him as her brother. As her blue eyes met his sad amber gaze, Rivian remembered the guilt she felt when she faced the young Sarevok earlier. _Perhaps, he's not that evil, being a victim of circumstances._ she mused.

"She brought you to kill me, didn't she?" the fighter asked bitterly.

"No brother. She wanted me to stop you from your madness and ambition. She wanted to save you, Sarevok. " the moon elf explained.

"She loved you, you big fool." Imoen's sharp voice interrupted, drawing their gazes on her. "Even I can see that." she continued, her voice softened.

Rivian looked at her sister in surprise; she had not thought Imoen would console Sarevok. She was so proud of her. A wide grin appeared on her face and she hugged Imoen and kissed her forehead. The thief smiled in response.

"I must think over your words, sisters." Sarevok said quietly and got up from his seat.


	14. Chapter 14: Oasis

**Reviews:**

Silver of Two Wings: Sarevok's struggling with his new found conscience, at least that's what I was trying to explore. Thank you so much for your review. I'm thinking of Sarevok's TOB epilogue where the game concluded that he went to bury his one true love, Tamoko, so yeah I think he did feel something for her. :)

Amousca: Hey DalreïDal, you're right, the amended chapter sat better with me. I don't know why I made her so pansy in the first place. lol. Thanks so much for your review.

Ami Metallium: Sorry about the story's beginning, perhaps there were too much technical detail that intimidated you, but I'm so glad you stick around. Thank you very much for letting me know what you think. Hope you like the new chapter too.

**Notes:**

The next chapter will be delayed as I'm heading off for vacation. Do let me know if I'd made any mistakes or if you have any suggestions to improve this story. Thank you.

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**Chapter 14: Oasis**

The desert was hot and dry; Rivian licked her dry lips that were on the verge of cracking. It was midday and the sun was hot and bright. _Why can't we teleport directly to Amkethran? Instead we had to land in this hellspawn desert._ The moon elf took a quick look around and saw the group struggling against the heat and fatigue as well. They had been trekking for the half a day and all they could see was sand. It was demoralizing, to say the least.

"That's it! I'm not moving another inch." Imoen grumbled, and halting her march.

"Aye. I agree with Lady Imoen." Anomen agreed earnestly, wiping his wet forehead with a cloth.

"Whims! You just had a rest barely a breath ago." Sarevok sneered, bringing a scorn on Imoen's sweat-glistening face.

"Shut up. Sarevok. You..." the thief retorted and was about to throw a string of curses when Elhan stepped between them.

"Boo says I need to shave his fur." Minsc interrupted the commotion, holding out his hamster in his palms. Rivian tried to stifle a laugh at the wet looking hamster whose fur was soaked either from its own perspiration or the ranger's.

Imoen was not as subtle; she roared with laughter, holding the sides of her stomach as she bent forward trying to stop herself and failing miserably.

Even Sarevok looked amused as he tried to wipe his grin off his face.

"Why is little Imoen laughing?" The ranger asked innocently, scratching his bald head with one hand.

"Perhaps this is a good time to have our midday feast?" the elf prince grinned and looked to their leader who nodded her agreement.

As the adventurers ate their provisions quietly under the hot sun, none of them were in the mood for chatting. Rivian glanced around and amidst the bright rays of the midday sun, she could make out some sort of greenery a distance away. The elf elbowed Elhan who was eating besides her and when she caught his eye and directed him to the direction.

"A shelter perhaps?" The elf prince asked.

"Or our destination..." The sorceress offered. The prince shrugged.

"You two saw something?" Imoen got up from her seat and hurried over to the elves, wearing a hopeful look at a possible end to their sandy torment.

Rivian grinned, she could not help it after seeing the look on the thief's face.

"Oh come on. Stop teasing me. It's not my fault I have no elven sight to see that far." The mage elbowed the leader and narrowed her eyes and twisted her lips in a mocking annoyed manner.

Elhan chuckled. Even Jaheria who was usually the most serious one in the group could not resist a small smile.

"Alright. I see greenery in the distance, that side." the moon elf pointed to the west.

The mage turned towards the direction the leader pointed and narrowed her eyes, trying to look beyond but all she could see was sand and light. She growled in annoyance.

Rivian laughed and poked Imoen's ribs.

"Ow."

"We will head there in a moment. I estimate it'll take us another half a day to reach it, so get some rest first." the moon elf advised.

------------------

As the sun set, the group arrived at their destination. The air was cooler, much to the adventurers' relief. A huge pond of water could be seen and Imoen ran towards it, splashing happily in the cool, clear water. Rivian was going to join her sister when Elhan pulled her arm sharply.

"We've got company." he hissed urgently, his hand grabbing the hilt of his weapon.

The moon elf immediately sighed to the mage in the waters to rejoin the group. Then she turned to the rest of the group and gestured them to prepare for battle.

A regime of soldiers stepped out of their hiding places, a man wearing silver full plate mail approached the group, his hand gripped on his sword.

"Rivian Silverwinds?" he asked, looking at the moon elf.

The sorceress observed the man warily, her hand laid casually on the hilt of _Enelya_. "What do you want?"

"I am Jamis Torbelthen, captain of the Queen's guards. By the Queen's decree, you are under arrest for the destruction of Saradush." the man announced, pulling out an elaborated parchment, unrolled it and showed it to the adventurers.

Rivian read the cursive script on the scroll, it was an order from the Queen of Tethyr to arrest them and to annihilate the adventurers if they resisted.

"This is injustice. We are not responsible for Saradush's destruction." the moon elf argued, feeling her shadow within her surged in anger.

"We are innocent!" Anomen protested.

"This must be a mistake." Jaheria commented, taking the parchment from the captain's hand and read it carefully.

"You have read the Queen's decree. If you resist, we will take you by force and know that we came prepared. You will do well to come with us quietly." the captain said firmly. Behind him, his men stepped forward, their hands gripping their weapons.

"Are we deemed guilty without even a trial?" Rivian asked, remembering that Tethyr was a country governed by law.

The captain hesitated and a look of confusion appeared on his face. "You were in Saradush when the city fell, weren't you?"

Rivian nodded.

"You are a Bhaalspawn, aren't you?" the captain continued.

The sorceress nodded.

"Do you dare claim you had nothing to do with the city destruction then? The city was annihilated by you Bhaalspawn."

The moon elf shook her head. "It was Yaga Shura that destroyed the city. He was a Bhaalspawn but he is dead now. It was not _us_ who wrecked the city."

"Someone has to pay for the deaths. You Bhaalspawn had given us nothing but trouble." the captain said angrily.

"Yes, you want someone to pay for the deaths, don't you? It doesn't matter if we had committed the acts or not, all you want is revenge, isn't it? It doesn't matter if we were risking our lives to defeat Yaga Shura, to save the city, does it? Is that the nature of Tethyrian law? No matter what I do, all I get from others is their scorn, distrust and accusations... " Rivian lamented, her voice softened. She turned around when she felt a hand on her shoulders, giving her strength; she found Elhan's amber orbs glancing at hers with pity and understanding in his eyes. She managed a small smile at him.

Captain Torbelthen looked doubtful at the elf's words; He glanced behind him at his men and saw their hesitation. There was no evidence to prove the moon elf and Tethyr was a country governed by law and the Law treats all subjects fairly. There was no justice in revenge and it was not the way the army of Tethyr operated.

He turned to the adventurers, his expression softened. "You have a point. There is no justice in revenge. There is not enough evidence to prove your charge; you are free to go now. However, if more proof turns up to indicate your guilt, rest assured I will hunt you down. Good day, Rivian Silverwinds." Turning to his men, the captain signaled for them to withdraw.

The sorceress sank to her feet, relieved that the group was able to avoid bloodshed. Elhan took her into his arms and held her close. The moon elf hugged him back, letting her nerves calmed down by the soothing sound of his heart beating. It bothered her tremendously that she was always being accused of the most heinous crimes, when her intentions were nothing but noble. _Will I ever be free from the curse of my blood? Free of the prejudiced and mistrust.?_ she wondered.


	15. Chapter 15: Sendai

**Reviews:**

Ami Metallium : Thank you so much for your review. Yeah, Boo's perfect for that little comic relief portion. )

Starx: You're quite right. Thanks for pointing it out. )

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**Note:**

Sorry that this chapter took so long. I had it written a long time ago but had forgotten to post it. Here it is and hopefully, its not too bad.

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**Chapter 15: Sendai**

Imoen panted and dodged a drow's sword that aimed at her neck. She slid just in time to avoid the sharp blade but sacrificed a few strands of her hair, in the process. The drow sneered at her, his red eyes narrowed dangerously as he slashed his weapon at her again, in one graceful move. "A little help here..." Imoen shouted across the battlefield as she ducked another swipe of the dark elf's sword.

Rivian stole a quick glance at her struggling sister and frowned. She returned her attention on the priestess and kicked her in the ribs. The drow fell over and crutched her stomach. The moon elf slashed across her neck and severed the drow's head. She frowned in disgust as the headless torso fell over, pouring blood on the ground.

Turning around, the moon elf ran across the room to Imoen and while the drow was busy attacking the human girl, Rivian slashed him across his back, ending his life.

Imoen panted and let out her breath. "Thanks, sis." She said, wiping her wet brow.

Rivian nodded and pointed at the exit. The girl turned to look and pouted. "Damn. More reinforcements for the enemy? We're already hard-pressed." she grumbled.

"Summon more allies; we need your spells here, Imoen. Seal up that exit." The moon elf advised and moved towards Elhan who was busy fighting two drow fighters.

Elhan flashed a quick smile when he saw her approached and continued singing his bladesong. He twisted his way around one dark elf's defenses and kicked him from the back. The nimble drow quickly got on his feet and counterattacked.

On the other side of the room, Sarevok spat on his latest victim and scanned the battlefield; there were two more dark elves who had engaged the elf prince. He charged towards his new targets.

Imoen conjured a shimmering web and directed it to the exit and sealed it up temporarily. She saw the mindless skeletons got caught in the sticky web. The undead struggled and got more entangled in the web, effectively blocking the entrance and the hordes of skeletons behind could not get past. Satisfied, the girl started to conjure a new spell. Within a few moments, a portal opened and a celestial was summoned and directed to heal her friends.

"Good job, Imoen." Jaheria shouted a distance away, noticing the blockade at the door.

Imoen turned and winked at her. She watched the druid smiled and started her spell casting. The girl smiled as she thought of the perfect spell to eliminate the undead piling up at the entrance. Her web spell would hold them temporarily and provided her allies with some breathing room, but the spell would not sustain very long. She started casting for a Death spell that could sever all links of the summoned undead from the prime plane and sent them back to the negative plane. As her fingers moved and gathered magical energy, a purple orb appeared and the mage directed it onto the struggling skeletons and watched them disappeared.

Behind the mage, Elhan and Rivian each stabbed the last standing drow and watched him gurgled on his own blood.  
Rivian wrinkled her nose in disgust at the sight.

"Are you alright, my love?" the elf prince asked.

The moon elf grinned at him and nodded her head. She caught sight of the empty entrance and smiled approvingly at the mage who winked at her. Turning back to the elf prince, the moon sighed. "So, that's only Sendai left, eh?"

"Just a quick rest, Ri." Jaheria said wearily from behind.

The rest of the adventurers gathered and nodded in agreement.

---------------  
Rivian stared at the statues in the small room and grimaced. Her eyes widened as she saw one statue came into life; the stone turned into flesh and the statue started to move. "Get that one!" she shouted at her friends and started her incantations to cast a spell.

Behind her, Sarevok and Minsc moved to engage the statue. Two drow priestesses appeared at the entrance and quickly found their targets.

The moon elf dodged defensively as she struggled to continue her spellcasting and avoiding one priestess's menacing whip. Her bladesinger ability allowed her to cast spell while she engaged in melee combat but the moon elf was unable to counterattack. A blade came in between them and slashed at the drow. Rivian gazed up to meet Elhan's amber orbs.

Rivian completed her spell and started casting a second one. A silver light engulfed her body, granting her some protection against magic weapons. Across the room, she watched Anomen's mace land on the statue and saw it broke into pieces. Behind her, the next statue started to turn into flesh. Rivian caught the cleric's eyes and quickly signal him to take the next statue. He nodded and ran towards it.

Before long, the group had managed to destroy all seven statues and their target appeared - a tall, powerful drow priestess.

"So, you've destroyed my statues. Don't get too smug because you won't find me a push-over." The drow leader laughed sardonically, waving her five-headed snake whip menacingly at the group.

The fight was on and the adventurers found that their weapons had no effect on the priestess. One snake on her whip sank its fangs on Anomen's arm; the cleric winced and his body started to become rigid. Soon he ceased to move totally, paralyzed by the poison but otherwise unharmed.

Rivian winced at the cleric's plight and signaled to the mage to take out the drow's protection spells. Imoen nodded and started casting a spell. There was no time to cast a spell to negate the effects on the knight; she would have to undo the poison after the battle.

With each layer of protection removed, Sendai quickly replaced it. The moon elf quickly devised a strategy; she caught Imoen's eye and signed her plan to the mage who grinned and nodded. The sorceress started casting a series of spells to strip off Sendai's protections and with Imoen's help, the drow priestess could not replace her magical armor in time, allowing Minsc and Elhan's weapons to draw blood.

Without the magical protection, the drow priestess fell quickly.

Jaheria turned to the frozen knight and started incarnating a spell to remove paralysis. Within a few breaths, the cleric started to breath and was able to move again. He nodded his thanks at the druid.

The group turned around and saw Rivian disappeared into thin air. Elhan winced; although he knew where the moon elf had been teleported, he did not enjoy the sight of her disappearing from him. It reminded him constantly that he was powerless to prevent that.


	16. Chapter 16: The Prophecy

**Reviews:**

Menelanna: Thank you for your review. Yeah I didn't have much interesting to write about Amkathran so I skipped over but I see your point about skipping it and it being confusing. Afterall, Amkathran is one of core places in TOB. I'll see if I can manage a bridging chapter between the missing part. Thank you so much for pointing it out.

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**Chapter 16: The Prophecy**

"Have you thought about your role in the prophecy?" The Solar asked after the moon elf recovered from the teleportation daze.

"I don't know." Rivian answered quietly. The prophecy spoke of the Children washing the realms with blood and that filled her with regret and fear; regret for the innocents that would be hurt and fear for the loss of all she loved and held dear.

Sensing the sorceress's hesitation, the Solar summoned an elf. "This is a part of you. Listen to what she says."

The copy turned to the moon elf and spoke in a neutral tone. "Your part in the prophecy is to prevent it from coming true."

Rivian blinked in surprise. _Prevent? I'm not the one that bring Death and blood to the realms?_ "That is a relief...I had no desire to cause the destruction the prophecy tells of."

The Solar nodded. "What will you do now?"

Rivian thought for a moment. There was nothing she wanted more than to end the chaos and start a new life with Elhan, if the prince would have her. "The quicker I get this _destiny_ over with, the quicker I can start the rest of my life."

The Solar smiled kindly and pointed one finger at another barrier. A single wave of blue energy appeared and unlocked the barrier. "Another challenge waits."

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Rivian sat quietly besides the campfire, thinking about the last words exchanged with the Solar. She glanced towards the chamber on her left, which had been recently unlocked.

"Melamin, you looked troubled."

Elhan's melodious voice interrupted her thoughts and the moon elf looked up to meet his concerned amber gaze. She flashed him a smile and stretched her hand towards the elf prince. "Come here, my heart." Elhan took her hand and sat besides her.

"What's troubling you?" Elhan asked quietly, holding the moon elf's hands in his own.

Rivian leaned her head against the bladesinger's chest. His arms automatically went around her, holding her close to him. The moon elf let out a soft contented sigh and relaxed her tense muscles. It was one of the few things that seemed to be stable and safe to her amongst the chaos and uncertainty surrounding her life. "The Solar told me that my part in the prophecy is to prevent the resurrection of Bhaal. If I fail, then the prophecy will come true."

Elhan turned the sorceress towards him and held her face in his hands. "That's a relief, is it not?"

The moon elf nodded. "I must not fail... Elhan. I cannot fail. So much is at stake here."

The prince planted a kiss on her forehead. "You won't. We will help you." He looked deep into her blue eyes. "A'mael, You're not alone."

Rivian was touched at the elf prince's words. "Elhan..."

"Shh..." the male elf placed one finger on her lips and smiled lovingly at her. He leaned forward and replaced his finger on her lips with a kiss. It was a sensual kiss and Rivian found herself kissing the prince back fervently.

He kissed her from her lips to her ear and nibbled at the pointed end of it. The moon elf closed her eyes and submerged into the blissful moment, her hands holding Elhan close to her. She felt his arms around her tightened, and he whispered into her ears. "Sleep in my arms tonight, A'mael." There was unmistakable invitation in his words. Rivian opened her eyes and met the prince's amber gaze; his golden eyes were bright with unspoken longing as he waited patiently for her answer.

The moon elf nodded shyly.

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Imoen tossed and turned in her sleep. A sudden expression of pain appeared on her face and it was gone as fast as it came. Her lips parted and something inaudible was whispered harshly, a slight frown appeared on her brows. Suddenly, she screamed and jolted awake. "NO!"

Imoen panted; she could hear her heart pounding in her ears. "Are you alright?" Rivian was sitting next to her in an instant, her arms around the human girl.

Imoen nodded bravely and offered the elf an assuring smile, the best she can manage. The darkness of her dreams still plagued her. In her mind, she knew that she had gained some abilities, powers that were promised to her in the dreams.

"What did you see, sister? You hear our sire's calling, didn't you?" Sarevok's deep voice startled the girl.

Imoen bit her lips and ignored the question. She was not about to share something so private with Sarevok.

Rivian stroked the girl's hair to comfort her. "It's alright, Imoen."

The mage turned to meet Rivian's silver blue eyes. "I... I think I have developed some more... abilities."

"What an irony! You who are such a weakling can actually harness the dark power in our blood while my access is now stolen from me." Sarevok exclaimed bitterly, his lips twitching malevolently.

Imoen bit her lips in anger and was about to rebuke the fighter when the moon elf interrupted her. "Enough! Have you learn nothing? You had the power and you tapped into it without reservations. Where did that land you?"

The seven-foot tall fighter looked surprise at the elf's words. He was quiet for a moment with a thoughtful look on his face. Finally, he sighed and walked away. "I will think over your words, sister." He said without looking back.

The elf turned her attention back to the thief and comforted her. She had been through the same thing before; the dreams were dark and filled with evil temptations. "It'll all end soon, Imoen."

"Can it end, Ri? I... I don't want these... I never wanted any of these." It was a desperate plea.

The sorceress hugged the girl and patted her back. "It will end, Imoen. I promise."

"Thank you, little sister." Imoen felt hopeful again. Rivian's words always had this effect. There was a hidden strength in her promise and that was reassuring enough for the mage.

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The group found themselves facing the Slayer, again. Anomen said a prayer to his deity and the battle began. Rivian knew that she would be the monster's target and thus had kept herself invisible, casting magic a distance away while the fighters kept the Slayer occupied.

The monster's thick hide was able to shrug off the attacks of the group. The moment Rivian's invisibility wore off, the creature started to advance towards her, slashing and knocking off the party blocking its path.

The moon elf ignored the impending danger and willed her concentration onto her incantations. The Slayer was within reach now and raised one claw to strike at the sorceress. "Melamin, watch out!" Elhan shouted. As the claw landed on the elf's chest, just before it could tear her skin, the air grew stiff and heavy. Rivian's incantations had completed and she moved out of range from the monster, and activated her magical protections. Her fingers went through various summoning spells that as the air grew lighter, the group found their numbers boasted with several summoned creatures on their side.

Elhan let out his breath in relief after seeing the moon elf unhurt and resumed his bladesong. He engaged the monster and invoked the magic of his weapon and managed to open a wound on the Slayer's scaly skin.

Behind the prince, Imoen concentrated on casting spells to lower the innate resistance to magic on the monster. She took care to keep a distance from the melee and provided support instead.

Jaheria summoned a greater fire elemental and willed it to engage the Slayer.

Rivian had drawn her sword and joined in the melee, tearing at the wound the elf prince made.

With the advantage of numbers on their side, the party quickly won the battle.

"Curse the challenges. Are you alright, my love?" Elhan was at the sorceress's side in an instant, checking her for injuries.

The moon elf smiled and nodded her head slightly. "I'm fine, Elhan."

The prince slipped his hand into hers and held it, one hand caressed her hair in a loving manner. "I do wish for the chaos to end soon, Ri. I want you safe by my side, more than anything else." He held her eyes for a moment.

A cough from Imoen broke their gaze. "I think the two of you need to get a room or something." She giggled and winked at the elves. Nudging the moon elf with her elbow, the thief leaned near and whispered. "I'm so happy for you, little sister."

Rivian blushed furiously.


	17. Chapter 17: Abazigal's Lair I

**Reviews:**

Menelanna : Thank you so much. I think Elhan's cute too but then I've always have a weakness for elves.

Kyubak : No, you're right. I've made an adjustment to the previous chapter. Thanks for pointing it out.

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**Chapter 17: Abazigal's Lair I **

"Jaheria, elf prince is hurt!" Minsc shouted for the druidess who was placing an order at the bar. The party had gathered for morning feast in an inn in Amethran. Jaheria came running from the bar counter with a worried look evident on her face. She found Minsc pointing one finger at Elhan's neck as the elf frantically pulled his tunic up trying to cover something.

"Stop it, Minsc. Elhan's fine." Rivian tried to pull the ranger away but she could not budge his huge frame. The moon elf then latched onto his arm and attempted to move him with little success. Instead the ranger tried to peel away Elhan's fingers on his tunic.

"Little Rivian. Prince's bleeding. Minsc saw and Boo saw too." He exclaimed, still trying to pry at Elhan's tunic.

"What's going on?" Imoen skipped over to the disturbance.

"Nothing, Imoen. Nothing..." Rivian replied hastily, feeling all the color drained from her face. "Just go and eat."

Imoen raised one eyebrow curiously. She knew the moon elf was trying to hide something from her nervous tone. "What's going on?" the mage insisted, ducking her eyes onto Elhan. "What's the matter, Elhan?"

The elf prince was coughing awkwardly, trying to free himself from the ranger's powerful tug at his tunic. "Let go, Minsc."

"Let go Minsc, you're choking Elhan." Rivian snapped at the Rashaman.

Jaheria was utterly confused; the elf prince did not show signs of injury, in fact he seemed awkward and embarrassed by the attention the party was showering on him. Turning to Minsc, the druidess tapped lightly at his outstretched hand. "Let go, Minsc. I'll take a look at his wounds."

The ranger nodded and removed his hands abruptly. "Jaheria is a good healer." He stated as a matter of fact and walked towards his waiting breakfast.

Rivian heaved a sigh of relief and looked apologetically at the elf prince.

Jaheria looked sternly at the prince who was still holding his tunic with his hands. "Let go, Elhan. Let me examine the wound."

The prince shook his head fervently. "I'm fine." he insisted stubbornly, casting Rivian a helpless look for assistance.

The druidess snorted in annoyance. "Look, we can either do this quickly or not..." she let her words sank into the elf."Now, let go."

Elhan sighed and slowly dropped his grip on his clothes. The moment she saw the wound, Imoen started to laugh hard as she doubled over, clutching at her stomach helplessly. Anomen was ignoring the whole fuss but Imoen's laughter aroused his curiosity and he walked towards the group. "What's going on?" he asked.

Imoen pointed at Elhan, and wiped the tears off her eyes. "Elhan's got a love mark on his neck." She started laughing again uncontrollably.

The cleric noted the fresh red bite marks on the elf's pale neck and looked away quickly. He shrugged away his discomfort and returned to his seat instead, not willing to join the mage.

Jaheria looked at the moon elf with a look that clearly asked her if she created the marks on the elf. The sorceress stared at the ground instead, blushing furiously. Turning back to the prince, the druidess shook her head in resignation and started a prayer for a healing spell.

Imoen nudged the sorceress's elbow and whispered into her ears. "I hope you didn't turn Slayer or something last night."

Rivian's eyes went wide at the statement and in an instant she turned around and stepped hard on the mage's toes. "Shut up, Imoen."

The thief went hopping around, clutching on her sore foot and gave the moon elf a teasing look.

Finally, the group settled down for breakfast though Imoen could not quite keep her face straight when she looked at the prince.

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After several hours of trekking, the adventurers found themselves at their destination. The surroundings were quiet and only the sounds of the winds blowing the sand could be heard. An entrance of some sort could be seen from where the party was. Attuned to their senses, the elves sensed a foreboding about this place. Elhan caught the sorceress's eyes and said. "Danger surrounds this place, trek carefully, melanin."

Rivian nodded her agreement and led the party towards the entrance.

"Halt! I can smell the stench of Murder in you." A young human man commanded.

"Let us pass. We are here for Abazigal!" The sorceress replied. Her hands signaled to her friends to prepare for battle. There was something dangerous and haughty about the young man from the way he spoke.

"An elven bhaalspawn! You do not deserve such power. I am Abazigal's son, Draconis. You will not pass." As soon as he finished speaking, the man charged at Rivian.

The battle started; the sorceress quickly drew out _Eneyla_ to defend herself. Besides her, Elhan quickly engaged Draconis, distracting him so that Rivian could retreat from the melee and cast her incantations.

Imoen quickly started a spell to freeze time; she knew exactly what she needed to do. As soon as the air grew stiff and slow, the mage quickly began her second incantation for a spell that will speed up her casting speed. Within a few breaths, it was complete and the mage took a deep breath and continued casting spells to summon a planetar and proceed to remove the magical protections off Draconis.

It was not long before the effects of the time freezing spells lifted. Imeon continued her attacks on striping the many layers of magical protections she knew the enemy had.

Anomen held his holy symbol with one hand and prayed for a spell to smite evil. His experienced fingers went through the necessary symbols and the spell was completed. A rain of silver bolts appeared in the area, falling down on enemy and allies alike.

Sarevok winced in pain as the silver bolts hit him. He knew whose spell had hit him. The fighter growled in pain and anger but he kept his attention on Draconis and resumed hacking at him. He would get back at the priest, after the battle.

A silver arrow from Imoen's magic bow hit Draconis in the arm, and the man flinched from the attack. The spell he was casting was disrupted and the magical energy fizzled. He cursed and dodged in time to avoid a slash from Sarevok's heavy sword. He was surrounded and at a great disadvantageous position. So he had underestimated the Bhaalspawn; nevertheless, he still had tricks up his sleeve. With a mighty roar, he laughed sardonically at the adventurers. "So you think you'd bested me? Watch this!"

Draconis shapeshifted into his true form before their very eyes. A huge green dragon appeared and it inhaled sharply, ready to let loose its breath weapon at the group who had gathered too close.

"Spread out!" Rivian shouted and rolled aside quickly.

The wyrm let out its breath attack, scorching the surrounding area with acid. The group managed to roll away in time to avoid serious injury.

"Nine hells." The sorceress cursed and fired her spell trigger which she used to store some spells against dragons. Rivian continued her efforts to reduce the innate magical resistance of the wyrm.

Imoen had started an incantation for a powerful spell that can drain off moisture from within an area. Besides her, Jaheria had managed to conjure two powerful elementals and directed them to engage the dragon.

Elhan joined in the melee against the wrym. He adopted a more defensive stance and tried his best to keep out of the dragon's claws. He was both graceful and subtle.

Sarevok was not as subtle as the elf; he slashed at one of the dragon's wings, scoring a deep cut on it. Draconis immediately turned towards the fighter and slapped him away with the other wing. The impact knocked him a good distance away and took the breath out of the fighter. He was dazed for a moment. He shook his head to recover his senses and drained a vial of healing potion and resumed his attack.

It was not long before the dragon fell from the party's vigorous attacks.

Elhan limped towards the moon elf and observed her for injuries. "I'm fine, Elhan." She frowned when she noticed his limp and the cut on his leg. "You're hurt." Rivian waved at Jaheria. "Jae, over here."

"It's nothing to worry about, Ri." Elhan assured, with a slight weary smile.

Jaheria healed the elf prince and went to check on Imoen.

Rivian noticed the weariness on the prince's face. She cupped his face with her hands and leaned in to plant a small kiss on his cheek. "You're tired, my love. We'll setup camp."

The prince smiled and embraced the elf into his arms. "As long as I can keep you safe, A'mael." he whispered.

"Incompetent cleric! My sister must be blind to keep you in the party!" Sarevok's angry voice interrupted the elves.

Rivian groaned in slight frustration and hurried towards the fighter.

"What's the problem?"

"Your stupid cleric cast a spell that caused me injury during battle." Sarevok's eyes glowed in anger as he glared at Anomen.

"It was the best spell to cast at that instant. And it is NEVER my duty to protect evil, even when it's in our party." Anomen stated.

"What spell was it?" The sorceress asked.

"Smite Evil."

Rivian laughed at the reply. She could not help it, the irony was there.

"Sister!" Sarevok snapped.

"Sorry, Sarevok. I'm not saying that Anomen made the right choice with that spell, but it seemed to me that the spell was an appropriate one that can hurt the enemy." The moon elf paused and turned to the others. "We'll setup camp around here. Anomen you may go with the others."

Turning back to Sarevok, the moon elf continued. "You are the only evil one in the party. After all you had gone through, do you still persist in your evil ways?"

The fighter was taken aback at the question; his anger momentarily disappeared as he considered the words. "I... I have no wish to go back to the Abyss. I had begun to doubt my thinking. After all, if you could survive till now while I could not, perhaps your thinking is the right one."

Rivian smiled kindly at the tall fighter. She held his hands and tapped encouragingly at his shoulders. "So you agree to give up your evil ways?"

Sarevok nodded slowly and met her gaze with his own. "Yes, you may be right. I should at least give it a try."

The moon elf nodded, her smile widened. "Good for you, brother. I think I'm beginning to feel proud to have you as my brother."

The fighter's eyes widened in surprise at her words. "Thank you, sister." he said slowly, his lips twitching into a smile.

"Let's get to the camp. We all need rest." Rivian took his hands and led him.


	18. Chapter 18: Abazigal's Lair II

**Reviews**

Kyubak: Hehe, thank you. My job is done. ;p

Menelanna: Thank you. I'm not sure what to do with the missing Amkathran part yet. The best way is to post a missing chapter between though at this stage of the story, I thought I'll try to cover that part in the next chapter.

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**Chapter 18: Abazigal's Lair II**

It did not take long for the group to discover the way to enter Abizigal's lair. With the aid of a rope and breathing potions, the adventurers maneuvered their way around the water tunnels and came face to face with a green dragon.

The eyes of the green wyrm stared blankly at them, as it spoke in an emotionless voice. "Halt! Bow down to the might of the Great Abizigal."

"She's definitely under a spell. Quick, use the Scroll of Reversal." Imoen whispered to the elf, before sneaking back to her place at the back of the group.

Rivian hesitated for a moment as she considered the wisdom of releasing a wyrm from the spell that held her in place. A battle against the wyrm would no doubt drain the group's resources and increased the difficulty of facing Abizigal in his lair. But without the scroll, the battle was inevitable; it was unlikely that the spell controlling the green serpent would allow the group to sneak past it.

The sorceress removed the scroll from her belt and read the enchantment. As the scroll vanished into ashes, the dragon's eyes cleared.

"You are a fool to release me. I could use you as a nice meal." Its voice was high and clear, full of anger and pride unlike its earlier speech. It turned its gaze onto the moon elf. "But you are lucky, elf. I did not serve Abizigal willingly and am in no hurry to fall into his crutches again. Take this ward stone." With that, the wyrm walked off.

"Phew," Imoen heaved a sign of relief. "I was not looking forward to another battle."

"Yes, we need our spells against Abizigal." Jaheria agreed.

"Let's get in there." Anomen suggested, patting his war hammer eagerly.

Rivian caught Elhan's eye and he gave her a glance that advised caution. The moon elf nodded at her lover and led the group through the entrance.

"So you are finally here." The rough voice of Abizigal said as soon as the group came into his sight. He had clearly been expecting the adventurers; a small group of Frost Salamanders gathered around the human.

"It is time to end your evil rein!" Rivian replied, and drew _Enelya_ from the scabbard.

"Those insolent words will be your last!" With a roar, Abizigal gave the command to attack.

The seasoned adventurers quickly engaged the nearest enemies, slaying those that fell before their skill and might.

Sarevok slew two front Salamanders and looked around for his next target. He noticed Imoen struggling with her spells and dodging the ice bolts from one Salamander near her. He wasted no time and charged at the enemy and using his heavy two-handed sword with ease, he slashed at the creature. It did not take long for me to overcome the Salamander.

Imoen caught the fighter's eye and nodded her thanks at him. Sarevok found himself quirking a small smile at his cheerful sister. They both seemed to reach an understanding between the two of them. Imoen turned her gaze towards the battlefield and started chanting for a spell. Following her lead, Sarevok located his next target and charged at it.

Rivian and Elhan teamed up to fight against Abizigal. He was strong, nimble and skilled at wielding his katana. Even with her bladesinging ability, Rivian struggled to keep herself on her feet as she rolled and jumped to avoid the dangerous weapon that threatened her life.

Elhan tried his best to protect the moon elf but Abizigal seemed to understand that his weakness is the elf and did his best to attack the sorceress. This kept both the elves busy and they could not release the full effects of the bladesong.

"A'mael, get out of this fight." Elhan shouted, between catching his breath and parrying the furious slashes of the enemy bhaalspawn.

"I won't leave you, Elhan." Rivian replied, rolling away in the nick of time to avoid a slash aimed at her abdomen. Elhan's blade was there to cover her retreat in a flash.

"Go!" The bladesinger commanded.

With one worried look, Rivian drank a potion of invisibility and got out of the battlefield. Using her temporary invisibility as a cover, the moon elf started incantations for a spell. She knew she was better with her spells than with a blade.

Sarevok joined Elhan, with both their efforts and supported spells from Rivian and Jaheria, they managed to defeat Abizigal.

"Fools, this is not over." The Bhaalspawn laughed sardonically, shapeshifting into his dragon form.

The adventurers groaned and wasted no time to take up their battle stances. More spells were cast, this time, Rivian stayed out of melee range. With a timely incanted spell that stopped the flow of Time temporarily, Imoen quickly cast more protection spells on the melee fighters and cast as many summoning spells as she could.

Rivian dug into her spellbook and cast most of the spells that may dispel magic on the wyrm. Without the innate magical resistance and its layers of protection spell, the wyrm fell eventually.

"Don't think you win yet, elf... Know this as I fall, the return of our sire is ever closer!" Abizigal coughed his last words as his huge dragon form laid motionlessly on the ground before disintegrating into dust.

"The fifth dragon to fall to our might!" Anomen kissed his holy symbol and hooked his war hammer onto his belt, wiping the perspiration off his brow.

Rivian ran to Elhan and frowned at the several cuts on his arms. Blood was stemming out of a deep cut on his brow and his amour was stained with dry and fresh blood. The bladesinger sighed and sat down on icy ground, his legs too tired to carry his weight.

"Elhan... â€œThe moon elf fussed over him. She uncorked a bottle of healing potion and forced it down his throat. "Drink, love."

The bladesinger was too tired to protest and obeyed obediently. After a few bottles of healing potions and a couple of healing spells from Anomen, some color returned to the elf's pale face. "I'm fine, A'maelamin."

"I'm sorry, I'm not strong enough." Tears streaked down the moon elf's face as she held the bladesinger's weary hands.

"Shh... You're a talented sorceress, love. I did not teach you the revered art of bladesinging so that you can fight at the frontlines. I taught it to you so that if you are forced to fight, you will be able to hold on until aid arrives." Elhan ruffled the moon elf's blue hair affectionately. "You did fine."

"I... I should protect you too." The sorceress insisted.

"Stubborn girl." Elhan pretended to be angry and frowned at the elf before breaking into a warm smile. "You are my Joy. Perhaps we can rest here for a while?"

Rivian nodded. She removed her cloak and wrapped it over the bladesinger. Just as she was about to hug Elhan, Rivian found herself being teleported.

---------------

The moon elf found the Solar waiting as she recovered from the teleportation daze. She let out a sigh of exasperation. "Your timing could not have been worse, Solar."

The Solar did not respond to the elf's remarks. "You are near the end of your journey, godchild. The Five gathered to eliminate the weaker children. Listen to this one..." With a wave of her hand, a portal opened besides Rivian and a huge form emerged, taking the shape of the fire giant.

"Who disturbs the rest of Yaga Shura?"

"Tell her, the role of the Five." The Solar commanded the spirit.

"We gathered to slay our weaker siblings, releasing their essence of our Sire they harbored in their pathetic bodies. We were promised to be the right-hand men of our Father when he returned. Of us Five, you have killed four."

Rivian felt a pang of anguish. What if her actions had not stopped the return of Bhaal but fueled his return instead? "What now? Is Bhaal to be resurrected?"

"The Five are powerful but who do you think is the most powerful among us?" Yaga Shura sneered.

"Balthazar... I will stop him before he can resurrect Bhaal." Rivian answered promptly.

The Solar nodded at her response, with a wave of her hand, blue bolts of energy appeared and broke the seal in one of the chambers. "Your challenge awaits."


End file.
